Its ok to be confused by richard kellys southland tales. Southland astronomical society observatory, in invercargill, new zealand. Everything you need to know about southland tales movie. An action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality. But then again, southland tales has always been a movie without an. The city is at once a central concern of the film and a subtle one. Of the three 2006 films mentioned at the start of this, southland tales is the least sure of itself in everything other than its aesthetic, and kelly calls on the other two to make his film emote when it has to. Southland tales is richard kellys follow up to his hit cult film donnie darko.
Southland tales competed for palme dor at the cannes film fes. But sadly, southland tales is a disjointed, muddled mess. Southland tales the pinocchio theory steven shaviro. Southland tales trailer french version, with sarah michelle gellar, the rock, seann william scott and justin timberlake, mandy moore and miranda richardson. I t would almost be easier to list the things southland tales does not have than the things it does. The bad is that this is southland tales, which has a plot which when explained in 20 minutes forced me to repeatedly stop before my brain cells committed suicide. Additionally, tracks from radiohead, louis armstrong, beethoven, kris kristofferson, and several tracks from mobys hotel. For me, southland tales is a collection of visual, phonetic and cultural. Southland tales is the greatest cult film of the 21st. It breaks my heart that it got scrapped, kelly deserves better. Boxer santaros is an action star stricken with amnesia. But if southland tales follows the same logic as donnie darko, as laid out in that film s dvd extras, when the fourth dimension is corrupted, it causes the creation of two parallel universes. Southland tales competed for palme dor at the cannes film festival in 2006, where it.
The world of southland tales feels alive, even as kelly is adamant that the apocalypse occurred 8 years ago and all meaning has been lost. I believe it matches the scope that southland tales was trying to match. Spotting such correspondences and there are many, both obvious and vague grants brief diversions while watching southland tales, but doesnt illuminate the essentially perfect first film or. The southlands, a mythical location in the warhammer universe. It might not have the same metaphorical meaning, but it makes use of time travel and has extremely distinct visuals. This line isnt really about its semantic meaning of course. Donnie darkos richard kelly explains southland tales. Not since southland tales has such an overstuffed, incoherent, crazily ambitious scifi epic landed in theaters, threatening to severely alienate every viewer it fails to seduce. The events of southland tales are set in an alternate reality with a timeline that diverges from our own on july 4th, 2005. The prequel saga is a collection of three graphic novels produced to accompany the 2006 feature film southland tales. Ambitious and arresting to the eye the gray palette serves the film well its too bad that southland tales is also pretentious, chaotic, and tries too hard. Southland tales is one of my top 10 favorite movies, its just so dense with double meaning and delicious irony.
This longawaited postapocalyptic film has gone through over a year of editing since. However the phonetic similarities endow the line with a legitimacy, a rediscovered meaning. After i saw the first cut of kellys southland tales at cannes 2005, i was dazed, confused, bewildered, bored, affronted and deafened by the boos all around me, at the most disastrous cannes press screening since, yes, the brown bunny. Kellys artless upchuck gives us the sight of a hoppedup timberlake lipsyncing to the killerss all. Southland tales is the worst film ive ever seen film. A genuine film maudit, southland tales was one of those rare cannes moments bertrand bliers les cotelettes was another when more or less the entire audience was united in its contempt. Unraveling the inside story of southland tales vice. In defence of southland tales richard kellys futuristic folly. Its a film of rare courage and audacity, a oneofakind trip through the looking glass and a surreal meditation on uncertain times and the sins.
I think a lot of people were just never going to accept the film for what it was. Southern california in the alternate universe of southland tales. Everything you were afraid to ask about southland tales. His life intertwines with krysta now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and ronald taverner, a hermosa beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.
His life intertwines with krysta now sarah michelle gellar, an adult film star developing her. The soundtrack for southland tales was released in stores and online on november 6, 2007. Youve never been more prepared to see this film than right now. Boxer santaros is an action star whos stricken with amnesia. Boxer santaros dwayne the rock johnson is an action star whos stricken with amnesia. Southland tales is a 2007 science fictionblack comedy film from director richard kelly, the followup to his 2001 cult hit donnie darko. During a threeday heat wave just before a huge 4th of july celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality tv project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy. A lot of people have seen southland tales and the reactions have been either they really loved it, or absolutely hated it, aside from the polarizing reactions, the common reaction among fans and haters is that not many understand it. Arriving in theaters in just a few weeks is donnie darko director richard kellys next movie, southland tales. You may want to ask in ask the tropers about whether its safe. Richard kellys southland tales is an amazing movie, and i will try to do it. The combination of a large budget and sonys decision to shelve the film after lackluster showings in a handful of cities means that its not likely to show profit for years to come. Donnie darko had just debuted there in january of 2001 and as soon as he got back, richard started writing southland tales.
I heard richard kelly was supposed to write and direct some episodes for that buckaroo banzai show on amazon. It features a film within a film, and a pair of twins who may not actually be. Southland tales was a really aggressive, provocative film even for cannes. Southland tales is an ambitious film, but a messy one, and while it may not work on the kind of level its aspiring to, in a movie climate where so many films play it safe, at least kelly tries. While planned as a mainstream breakthrough, things didnt pan out that way. Its plot hinges on a barely explained back story involving rifts in the fourth dimension. An actionmovie star named boxer santaros dwayne johnson is baffled when reality keeps mirroring the events in his script in southland tales. Thats a perfect picture of the vitality of southland tales a vigorous piece of pulp for the 21st century, it courts that very idea.
For half of kellys epic film about the end of the world, characters are quoting. It is important to state that just because southland tales is doing different things with narrative, it doesnt mean it is not a narrative film and that it doesnt have a narrative structure. Conversely, southland tales does retain its aura of uncanny resonance. Southland tales takes place during a threeday heatwave just before a huge 4th of july celebration. Southland tales prequel is happening, will be liveaction. Featuring a massive supporting cast which includes mandy moore, miranda richardson, wallace shawn, jon lovitz, kevin smith, amy poehler, and justin timberlake, southland tales received its world premiere at the 2006 cannes film festival. Southland tales is a 2006 science fiction comedy thriller film and the second film written and directed by richard kelly. Southland definition of southland by merriamwebster. Its rather bringing out the phonetic resonances between soul and soldier. A film like southland tales is tailormade for repeat viewing what with the crawls at the bottom of the fake news reports, the complexity of the set decoration, and all the underlying symbolism. The film s resident porn actresstalkshow host krysta now may indeed rock the cock, as several of the characters maintain, but its still unclear how southland tales was ever going to work as an extended rock the vote ad. Here are some of the various faq pages about southland tales. In defence of southland tales richard kellys futuristic.
Richard kellys apocalyptic fantasy has mushroom clouds and freedom fighters. Amongst the songs not available on the soundtrack but featured in the film are muses blackout, the killers all these things that ive done, and blurs tender. The congress is a sciencefiction fiasco of southland. The cannes boo is the annual terrorist attack of film festivals. Southland tales is itself no more lynchian than a bigbosomed rebekah del rio singing the national anthem during the film s climax, and nowhere near as clever, irreverent, or purposeful as mike judges similarly themed idiocracy. Moby composed the score for the film southland tales. Please explain the ending to the movie southland tales in. Southland center, a former office building, now sheraton dallas hotel in dallas, texas. The release of the film was preceded by the release of three graphic novels that told the compelling back story of the film they have now all been compiled into a 300 page graphic novel called the prequel saga.