The New Statesmans weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. The soundtrack does not feature all the music from the film, probably due to rights/royalties issues. [30] The film was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on November 9, 2007, in partnership with Destination Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films,[31] but in eventually opened in limited release in California on November 14, 2007. Most of the information in this FAQ can be attributed to three main sources:The three graphic novels that serve as a precursor to Southland Tales. Why that happens when the Taverners touch, only Richard Kelly knows. It was first released in 2006 to almost uniformly terrible reviews, and has since found an audience with fans who love it for its great ambition, its disdain for common sense, and its prescient use of neo-Marxism, internet censorship and celebrity sex-tapes as harbingers of the future. Neo-Marxist cells have begun to converge on central Los Angeles. Much of Pilot Abilene's voiceover consists of direct quotations from the Book of Revelation. Pilot Abilene, who has been watching the scene from his gun turret, shoots and kills Starla. Why is the film listed as 2006 instead of 2007? "[14], Kelly's breakthrough film, Donnie Darko, was released in the United States on October 26, 2001, the same day the PATRIOT Act was signed. Back at USIDent headquarters, we learn that Boxer was kidnapped at a charity scavenger hunt several days earlier, and a charred body, presumed to be his, has been found in the desert near Lake Mead. Zora abruptly pushes Ronald from the car, and runs over Bing. The film that is most obviously referenced is "Kiss Me Deadly," a 1955 film noir about a private detective who uncovers a plot to detonate a nuclear device. In "Southland Tales" the Earth's rotation IS actually slowing down BECAUSE of an inter-dimensional rift above Lake Meade. He played a character named "Donnie" in a movie with Boxer Santaros. It's also symbolism for the above quote: almost a foreboding for the ending of the film where Roland turns out to be the Messiah. In the "Southland Tales" universe, when war broke out following the nuclear attacks in Texas, Treer was contracted to build several mega-zeppelins to ferry troops and equipment across the world. Messiah = high spirituality. "Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man according to what he deserves"Revelation 21? Roger Ebert described the Cannes screening as "The most disastrous since, yes, The Brown Bunny. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to have it -- or the graphic novels -- spoiled, you should stop reading this right now. The name of Dr. Severin Exx is a reference to the name of an evil doctor in the movie "Kiss Me Deadly," and Boxer Santaros' convertible is the same car driven by Ralph Meeker in the 1955 film. Violence has erupted throughout the city. "Southland Tales" opens on July 4, 2005, in Abilene, Texas. Although Kelly's first film, "Donnie Darko," was an obtuse cult hit about time travel and an apocalyptic rabbit, few people could have anticipated a follow-up as thoroughly baffling as "Southland Tales." That's why he wakes up on the beach at the start of the movie. When cops arrive on the scene, he still doesn't stop,. As part of his participation in the Neo-Marxists' plot, Ronald must pretend to be his brother Roland and accompany Boxer during his movie research. Walter Mung recognizes him and quickly sedates him with an injection of fluid karma. Ronald and Roland Taverner, furthermore, are not twins, but copies of the same person. This is where "Operation Dream Theory" came into play. The theatrical cut of "Southland Tales" has been extensively reedited -- a subplot has been excised, additional special effects shots have been inserted, a new explanatory sequence opens the movie -- and critics have been considerably kinder to it. Southland Tales is dizzyingly maximalist, never happy with one set-piece if it can introduce five. Why does Pilot dream about the song "All These Things I've Done" by The Killers? The world ends. Fortunio and his buddies break into USIDent, killing all of the employees, including Nana Mae Frost. The Baron phones Simon Theory (Kevin Smith), an old bearded man, and instructs him to "remove the body from Utopia Three.". This release will include both the original theatrical cut and the Cannes cut. For reasons that never become entirely clear, he was hired by the Baron to kidnap Boxer Santaros from a charity scavenger hunt and drive him to Lake Mead. Fluid karma is an "organic compound" that the Treer company discovered while drilling off the coast of Israel. The original script involved blackmail, a porn star, and two cops. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. Krysta says she's putting it all in, Cyndi asks why she would do something that stupid, and that's what causes her to tell Cyndi she's sleeping with "a large and powerful man." It's easy to empathize with his position, not so easy to remain engrossed in a film that's occasionally inspired but ultimately manic and scattered. Edit, According to The Prequel Saga, "The Power" was written entirely by Krysta Now, who is apparently psychic. The Book of Revelation and Marxism have been connected by academicsboth advocate the overthrow of tyranny. The critic Laura Mulvey once suggested Blue Velvet, having been released in 1986, was the ideal film for the mood of the Reagan era. Although it's part of a different section in the book, Revelation also refers to the Whore of Babylon -- dressed in scarlet and covered in gold -- as a symbol of Babylon's corruption. In particular, Southland Tales apes his Four Lines, All Waiting style of plotting, his sci-fi meets religion Mind Screw nuttiness, his themes of identity and counterfeits, his gratuitous mixing of high literature and pop culture references, his Medium Awareness twists about characters believing fiction is secretly communicating to them, and an It's filled with so many references and so much self-conscious irony that it's nearly impossible to make sense of it all. The name Treer is a reference to Trier, Marx's birthplace. No, it's not just you. If this is a parallel with the Book of Revelation, then who's whom? Meanwhile, Martin Kefauver (Lou Pucci), a young man dressed in hip-hop gear, meets Pilot Abilene at the "Fire" Arcade, where he exchanges pot for fluid karma. "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death"Revelation 11: In a 2011 interview, Justin Timberlake himself said, "To me, Southland Tales is performance art. Meanwhile, using a sex tape given to her by Krysta Now, Cyndi Pinziki is blackmailing Frost for money and demanding the passage of Proposition 69 (a bill that restricts USIDent's powers). The other main reference points are T.S. Tab wanted Ronald to help the Neo-Marxists destroy USIDent, so he entrusted Roland and Ronald to Zora Carmichaels, who then drove them to Venice Beach. Madeline walks in and tells him that he has been speaking in his sleep. She may also be representative of the Whore of Babylon (ancient Babylon situated in what is now Iraq) and her energy drink the "Cup of Abominations".Madeline Frost Santaros: "[29], The film remains enigmatic to many viewers and even some of its makers. [19] Kelly describes the negative reaction at Cannes as a "very painful experience on a lot of levels" but ultimately felt that the film "was better off because of it". Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. In the universe of the film, Dr. Inga Von Westphalen is also the granddaughter of Jenny Von Westphalen, Karl Marx's wife. Nana Mae Frost is also monitoring the entire situation from USIDent. But, unexpectedly, police officer Bart Buchman (Jon Lovitz) pulls up and shoots both of them for real. The film follows the criss-crossed destinies of Boxer Santaros, an action film actor stricken with amnesia; Krysta Now, a psychic exporn star in the midst of creating a reality TV show; and twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner, whose destinies become intertwined with that of all mankind. In near-future 2008, Los Angeles (referred to as "The Southland" by locals) is a dystopian[8] city on the brink of chaos overshadowed by the growth of an underground neo-Marxist organization. [19], Many critics responded unfavorably to the film's long running time and sprawling nature. The film also evokes Kurt Vonnegut's sci-fi absurdism, Philip K. Dick's philosophical approach to time travel, and Thomas Pynchon's sprawling narratives. Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire, He is the doomsday prophet, the witness of everything. Boxer's original self was incinerated in a car bomb triggered by Serpentine, while the duplicate Boxer is still roaming. The site's consensus states: "Southland Tales, while offering an intriguing vision of the future, remains frustratingly incoherent and unpolished. "[37] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The final chapter of the film ("VI: Wave of Mutilation") begins. She is pursued by Zora and Bart, who have discovered that Krysta has taken Dion and Dream's murder tape by mistake. That's why Taverner always feels so guilty.The Baron used the drug to keep everyone under control and on a leash but did not realise that each person under the influence of Fluid Karma can communicate with one another. "Tiny Elephants" by Moby12. One of these was a rift created in the fourth dimensionthe fourth dimension being time itselfat Lake Meade, which was discovered when an airplane flew through it and had all its passengers left with amnesia (bar oneKrysta Now, who gained psychic abilities from it). "[33] Jason Solomons, in The Observer (UK), said that "Southland Tales was so bad it made me wonder if [Kelly] had ever met a human being" and that ten minutes of the "sprawling, plotless, post-apocalyptic farrago" gave him the "sinking feeling that this may be one of the worst films ever presented in [Cannes] competition. While Ronald is briefly distracted, Boxer is beckoned over by Serpentine, who has been hovering nearby. Ronald agrees to take Boxer for a ride-along so he can research his role. When he first discovered the rift, we learn, the Baron decided that the first human to travel through the rift would be a movie star and that movie star would be Boxer Santaros. A pregnant woman, a dragon and two beasts; They are the puppets of the Anti-ChristRevelation 22:12: Who does the name "Bing Zinneman" refer to. As he waves at himself in the mirror, he notices that his reflection's movements don't match his own. 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