[45], Kelly later expressed regret in releasing the latter chapters first through the original film, stating that this placed the audience at a disadvantage. [24][25], The soundtrack for Southland Tales was released in stores and online on November 6, 2007. By the time the film reaches its climax -- which somehow manages to combine modern dance, a floating ice cream truck and the resurrection of Christ -- all semblance of logic has long since evaporated. An audacious near-future pop fever dream under the guise of blockbuster aesthetics, "Southland Tales" starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a movie star who keeps forgetting his past, Sarah. What's Justin Timberlake doing in all of this? Their hands begin to glow. Roland, a Hermosa Beach police officer, became involved in a "deep conspiracy" and he would be in grave danger if anyone found out that he was alive. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne "The Rock". The police break into Neo-Marxist headquarters and kill Kenny Chan. This is the way the world ends not with a bang, but with a fascinating near three-hour disaster of a movie, as deranged as Heavens Gate and as distinctively mid-Noughties as a Juicy Couture tracksuit. But now it's about, I hope, creating a piece of science fiction that's about a really important problem we're facing, about civil liberties and homeland security and needing to sustain both those things and balance them. [14] With the film's premise of a nuclear attack on Texas, Kelly wanted to take a look at how the United States would respond and survive while constructing a "great black comedy. When Boxer and Fortunio met up with Krysta, she recognized Boxer and managed to convince him that she was an actress researching a role in his new movie, "The Power." Both vehicles come to a rest in the middle of a shootout and Walter Mung is killed. Edit, Fred Zinnemann, the well-known movie director of the 1950s and 60s, maybe? 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. Then, after several detours, Krysta and Boxer made their way to Los Angeles, where Boxer went on a nighttime stroll on the beach, injected himself with fluid karma and passed out. As a tie-in, Kelly has also produced three graphic novels ("Two Roads Diverge," "Fingerprints" and "The Mechanicals" -- now available as "Southland Tales: The Prequel Saga") that explain the film's back story. The Anti-ChristSerpentine: While Roeper called the film "Two hours and twenty-four minutes of abstract crap," Phillips felt that "the film has a head on its shoulders despite the fact that it can't find any direction" but nevertheless gave the film a thumbs down. At least that way, he isn't . 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. . It tells the story of Jericho Cane, a renegade Los Angeles police officer (and Boxer Santaros doppelgnger), who teams up with Dr. Muriel Fox, a psychic stripper (and Krysta Now doppelgnger), to protect a baby named Caleb. All three graphic novels were written by Richard Kelly, with artwork by Brett Weldele. 9 in D Minor, op. Movie star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) plans his next film with the . Unfortunately, the reworked film was received just as poorly, seen as an unfinished version of something much bigger. We zoom out to a satellite view, revealing that another nuclear bomb has been detonated in El Paso. He stopped editing the film and was also unable to complete all of the visual effects in time for the screening. Edit, No. It turns out that Fortunio has been on the Baron's payroll all along. It opened in Canada, as well as nationwide in the United States, in just 63 theaters,[6] on November 16, 2007. 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 purpose of these novels is to explain much of the back-story and set the viewer up for parts IV, V and VI in the movie itself.An article titled Everything you were afraid to ask about Southland Tales. 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. Why that happens when the Taverners touch, only Richard Kelly knows. What's with the glow from Roland and Ronald's hands? Tide power, and the wireless transmission of electricity, are scientific realities. Pilot Abilene, who has been watching the scene from his gun turret, shoots and kills Starla. Its plot hinges on a barely explained back story involving rifts in the fourth dimension. [38], Glenn Kenny, in his review for Premiere criticized the film's style, "Kelly's camera placement and framing are at best textbook and at worst calamitously mediocre. The song he listens to is "All These Things I've Done" by The Killers, while he was listening to the song, the "friendly fire" incident occurs. (This explains the final scene where "Ronald" tells Roland he forgives himhe is actually Pilot Abilene talking, explaining that he forgives him for what happened in Fallujah.) Kelly wrote Southland Tales shortly before the September 11 attacks. 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. Is "The Power" important for understanding "Southland Tales"? "Kelly launches Darko Entertainment", by Dade Hayes, "How The World Ends: Conversation With Richard Kelly", "Anatomy of a Cannes Disaster: What Happened After 'Southland Tales' Was Booed", "Exclusive Interview: Richard Kelly (Southland Tales)", Southland Tales - Music From The Motion Picture, "Apocalypse Soon: A Mushroom Cloud Doesn't Stall 2008 Electioneering". Taken as a purely Christian parable, then this is the book of Revelations and God ending the world and humanity in it's present form. The only new special feature announced was an audio commentary by Kelly. Filming was slated to begin in July 2004, but after a year, it had not begun. | His musical dream sequence, which is actually a drug-induced telepathic thing, is the emotional center of the whole piece, since he was accidentally disfigured by his friend. "And God wiped the tears from his eyes, so the new Messiah could see out to the New Jerusalem." "[5], In January 2021, Richard Kelly announced that developments are underway to expand the film into a franchise with intention being that the original cast return. He called it a "strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol and Philip K. Much of Pilot Abilene's voiceover consists of direct quotations from the Book of Revelation. She cuts the ribbon as USIDent employees -- dressed in windbreakers -- applaud. If you replace the Antichrist with the bourgeoisie, and the kingdom of God with a communist utopia, you've got the same basic narrative. I ended up watching it in lockdown because the film streaming service Mubi, which has released its library in full online, called it breathtaking, exuberant, and Pynchon-esque. As in "Southland Tales," a character in "Kiss Me Deadly" picks up a stranger in the desert, and one of the main characters in the film is named after a poet. 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. The filmmaker stated that discussions are ongoing as to whether the projects should be released as films or in a long-form format through a streaming service.[46]. 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. Zora Carmichaels and Bart Buchman return to the Neo-Marxist headquarters, where we learn that the two are lovers and have planned the murder of Dion and Dream. In addition to her reality show, Krysta has launched an energy drink and recorded a hit single called "Teen Horniness Is Not a Crime." As part of the deal, the Baron has Serpentine cut off the prime minister's left hand. "Wave of Mutilation [UK Surf Version]" by Pixies2. The movie plays in the background in several scenes, and in the "Prequel Saga," Krysta tells Boxer it is his favorite movie. The Tangent Universe is an alternate reality to our own. Why does Pilot dream about the song "All These Things I've Done" by The Killers? Edit, The term fluid karma is used to refer to two things in the movie. Things certainly ended on a dark note for many of the characters on the "Southland" season finale, but the final moments left fans' jaws on the ground in a cliffhanger that may never be resolved. One theory is that duplicate souls from alternate timelines are not meant to exist together in a single timeline. Nowadays, the debate surrounding freedom, privacy,. Cane loses consciousness. On July 4th, 2005, in a fictionalized United States alternate history reality, two towns in Texas (El Paso and Abilene) were destroyed by twin nuclear attacks, killing thousands and triggering a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions, sending America into a state of chaos and hysteria, as well as a Third World War (a fictionalized version of what the nation may have become under the War on Terror), with the US government re-introducing the draft. Since then, Kelly has released prequel comics to coincide with the film. The name Treer is a reference to Trier, Marx's birthplace. Edit, "The Power" is a pretty hilarious piece of work. It also works as a drug. One moment, for example, is during Cyndi's meeting where she asks Krysta how much of her own money is she putting into her career makeover. Musician Moby was approached on composing and performing the film's score. If you replace the Antichrist with the bourgeoisie, and the kingdom of God with a communist utopia, you've got the same basic narrative. As the party in the Mega-Zeppelin kicks off, Boxer heads upstairs to the Baron's secret chamber. The Grey Horseman. Kelly said: "[Southland Tales] will only be a musical in a post-modern sense of the word in that it is a hybrid of several genres. Its depiction of an American teenager experiencing premonitions about doomsday clocks and jet crashes suddenly became more piquant in light of such astounding tragedy. And, of course, gets corrupted and goes mad. Everything and everyone is bedazzled in red, white, and blue; burgers and Buds are happily consumed on the lawn of every McMansion. "Howl [Extended Version]" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club4. Edit, He had fulfilled his purpose on the earth and as witness to the coming of the next age, saw his body as an empty shell and gave it away. 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