Edit, Boxer Santaros: You could argue that all of Southland Tales occurs in the Tangent Universehence the film's alternate history of the past three years, and its weird mishmash of pop culture. The Cannes boo is the annual terrorist attack of . How would that work? Shown with white shirt flecked with blood as Revelation describes the white horseman as wearing "A white robe flecked with blood." Kelly wrote Southland Tales shortly before the September 11 attacks. Pregnant woman from Revelation 12 and 13 (Puppet of the Anti-Christ)Bobby Frost and Vaughn Smallhouse: If you'd like to skip directly to our question-and-answer section, click here. Roland manages to escape, climb onto the roof, and fall into a dumpster. [23], Southland Tales: Music from the Motion Picture is the original soundtrack of Richard Kelly's 2007 film Southland Tales. Krysta has decided to make her sex tape public by placing it into a Neo-Marxist drop box. He is a pimp and pimps don't commit suicide.". Edit, Much of Pilot Abilene's voiceover consists of direct quotations from the Book of Revelation. It does get easier to understand, though, if you've read the Book of Revelation. The filmmaker explained that the original film is chapters 4-6, while a prequel project will explore chapters 1-3 with intentions being to do so through an animation medium; while additional projects can explore events that take place in 2024. When scientists injected fluid karma into the soldiers, they became telepathic and could see into the past and, eventually, the future. I also watched it because at present there is something satisfying about an apocalypse story that suggests humanity may be too dumb, too self-interested and too naturally violent to survive. It foretells the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ (Pilot Abilene keeps reading it on the soundtrack). The title refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California and Greater Los Angeles. Treer knew of these effects and decided to use it to their advantage in the war. 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 Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of John, was written by an unknown person in the first century. Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire, He is the doomsday prophet, the witness of everything. The Tangent Universe is an alternate reality to our own. Outside, the ice cream truck levitates upward. User Reviews Liberal extremist cells start to emerge, including a group called the Neo-Marxists. Edit, Their role is explained a lot better in the graphic novels: they are the heads of the Neo-Marxists and are also street poets who have released several albums. Muriel and Jericho take the child after its parents are killed, and, under Muriel's guidance, drive to a farmhouse, where they are met by Serpentine, the Baron's mistress. "RONALD: "Sounds neat. If you replace the Antichrist with the bourgeoisie, and the kingdom of God with a communist utopia, you've got the same basic narrative. [16] Kelly consciously sought out actors that he felt had been pigeonholed and wanted to showcase their "undiscovered talents."[14]. He wakes up in a bed in his apartment in Treer Plaza. Southland Tales is streaming now on Mubi, This article appears in the 03 Jun 2020 issue of the New Statesman, We can't breathe. Second, fluid karma is the name used by Treer for the "hydroelectric energy field" produced by the their Utopia tidal generators. Janeane Garofalo appears as General Teena MacArthur. "[28] Salon.com critic Andrew O'Hehir called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen. It's OK to be confused by Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales.". 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. 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.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. Dragon from Revelation 12 and 13 (Puppet of the Anti-Christ)Pilot Abeline: Southland Tales is a 2006 American dystopian comedy thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly. What does the Latin inscription "oderint dum metuant" on the UPU cars mean? The Treer company is a German defense contractor that employs Dr. Inga Von Westphalen, a zeppelin designer and the Baron's mother. Or, maybe it's just an hallucination from Fluid Karma that only the two of them can see (since Martin doesn't actually notice the light from his hands in the Hummer). Southland Tales After twin terrorist attacks in Texas, the Republican party grabs the overwhelming majority of Congressional seats in the 2006 midterm elections by stoking public fear and claiming that America is living though the end times. Kelly's previous cult masterpiece Donnie Darko (2001) and the . What exactly happens at the end of the movie? Anything important or cool? 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. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne "The Rock". As the party in the Mega-Zeppelin kicks off, Boxer heads upstairs to the Baron's secret chamber. Why does the movie start with Boxer Santaros asleep on a beach? Edit, Three days before the movie starts, Krysta Now was vacationing on a houseboat on Lake Mead with Ronald Taverner, Tab Taverner (Ronald's father) and Fortunio Balducci. Nana Mae Frost is also monitoring the entire situation from USIDent. Kelly sought more financing to finish visual effects for the film, and he negotiated a deal with Sony to cut down on the film's length in exchange for funds to complete the visual effects. Using the graphic novels, the Book of Revelation, friends and whatever else we could find, we've pieced together everything you need to know (or at least everything we've been able to figure out) about "Southland Tales.". She tells him that he must board the mega-zeppelin and what he is looking for is in the Baron's private chamber. 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. The restaurant starts floating into space. Jericho Cane is the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in "End of Days." Kelly's movie may not be entirely coherent, but that's because there's so much it wants to say. Or is it just bullshit by Richard Kelly? Edit, In the 1980s British TV comedy 'Allo 'Allo!, the right-hand man of Herr Flick of the Gestapo is called "von Smallhausen", so maybe that's where Kelly drew his inspiration from. Everything and everyone is bedazzled in red, white, and blue; burgers and Buds are happily consumed on the lawn of every McMansion. It stinks and we have to accept it. "[34] A handful of the American and European critics, however, were more positive. Southland Tales is unashamedly maximalist, rushing through as many set pieces as Kelly can conjure whilst simultaneously touching upon practically every theme a work of art can contain. The Baron admits that he has been paying Krysta to deceive Boxer, but also mentions that Madeline is pregnant with the child of Brandt Huntington (Joe Campana), one of her father's assistants. Despite being critically and commercially unsuccessful, the film has developed a cult following in later years. Why did Roland Taverner end up driving Boxer Santaros through the space-time rift? The Region 1 DVD was released on March 18, 2008, in North America and the Region 2 release was on March 31, 2008, in the United Kingdom. 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. They will reign forever and ever"Revelation 12 and 13: [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. You know those overlooked classics that are critically ignored only to blossom into beautiful definitive works over time.like "Pinkerton" or "Starship Troo. The name Treer is a reference to Trier, Marx's birthplace. Two of the solders that participated in the experiment were Roland Taverner and Pilot Abilene. : The film was released in the UK on December 7, 2007, exclusively to UK cinema chain Cineworld in a limited number of locations. If that wasnt enough, a German company whose CEO is played by Wallace Shawn has invented an infinite energy source called fluid karma. Unfortunately, Kefauver and Ronald's Hummer soon collides with the ice cream truck carrying Roland. (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.) But once they went through the rift, the car's self-destruct mechanism was activated, killing the copy of Boxer that did not travel back in time. In fact, Marx was indirectly influenced by the Book of Revelation in his writing. With many repeated usage, Chemical Bleeders can sometimes see both ways (ahead and back in time). Since then, Kelly has released prequel comics to coincide with the film. 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. How meta. Dr. Severin Exx read Krysta the Book of Revelation while she was under hypnosis. 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. [36], 41% of 106 reviews compiled by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and the average rating is 4.9 out of 10. "[40] David Edelstein's review in New York magazine criticized the film's writing, "Kelly aims high and must have shot off his own ear, which is the only way to account for the dialogue. Once it was discovered, they sent monkeys through it, which failed (Boxer claims that only a human soul could survive the trip). Two months before Southland Tales was released, he announced the launch of Darko Entertainment.[15]. Unfortunately for the Neo-Marxists, their operative in USIDent, Kenny Chan, has been compromised. This has opened up a rift in the space-time continuum on the outskirts of Lake Mead. 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. Also, they had sex. Cane loses consciousness. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He says, "It all ends tonight.". Two souls join into one, the forth dimension collapses. The release of Kellys first film, Donnie Darko, more or less coincided with the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. This means that Christianity has won the "contest" for Earth and is the one true faith. Suddenly, a bright light appears through windows and a mushroom. "Southland Tales" also borrows from "Repo Man," which ends with a flying car (and which also referenced "Kiss Me Deadly"). Ronald agrees to take Boxer for a ride-along so he can research his role. Once Krysta departs, Boxer receives a phone call from Starla instructing him to go to the Santa Monica pier. Fluid karma also makes telepathy possible between those that are using it. Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire film magazine, The idea of wireless electricity and tides being a source of energy, and there being a potentially world-altering energy source under the ocean, is based on real scientific theory. Kids are shooting home video of their Independence Day barbecue. We'll begin with a recap of the film. Edit, Not really, but it explains why the tattoo of Jesus on the back of Boxer's neck starts bleeding at the end of the film. The world ends. In "Southland Tales" the Earth's rotation IS actually slowing down BECAUSE of an inter-dimensional rift above Lake Meade. Movie star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) plans his next film with the . It has a similar plot to Southland Tales, but with different characters and more gratuitous product placement. Southland 's heart-pounding and ultimately heart-breaking final hour centered around the hunt for the two meth heads who killed one of the LAPD's own in last week's captivating episode. Roland runs to meet him inside the ice cream truck. Abilene injects himself with fluid karma, collapses, and, in a dream sequence, dances a routine to the Killers' "All The Things You've Done," while nurses twirl around him. | The PATRIOT Act has extended authority to a new agency known as US-IDent, which keeps constant surveillance on citizenseven to the extent of censoring the Internet and requiring fingerprints to access computers and bank accounts. Most of the screenplay is included in The Prequel Saga. Messiah ( forgives sins)"I forgive you. Edit, Moments before the whole Fallujah incident, when Pilot and Roland were roping down their helicopter, Pilot is nervous so Roland gives him his iPod to listen to. In Donnie Darko, the world ends when the Tangent Universe collapses, which may also be what happens at the end of Southland Tales. 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