The first chapter in the film ("IV: Temptation Waits") begins. This would be a perpetual motion machine, and could not work. Southland Tales EXPLAINED - Breakdown & Heavy Analysis - YouTube FOR MORE MOVIE EXPLANATION VIDEOS PLEASE LIKE AND COMMENT THIS VIDEO! 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). [7] The title refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California and the Greater Los Angeles area. "Southland Tales" feels insane because it tells a truth that most of us would rather ignore: that faced with the chaos of what feels like a disintegrating society and imperiled world, we would . Fortunio and his buddies break into USIDent, killing all of the employees, including Nana Mae Frost. "Look Back In" by Moby5. It does get easier to understand, though, if you've read the Book of Revelation. [20][21], Universal Studios had originally optioned the U.S. rights, but after the Cannes screening, it was sold to Sony, although Universal still retained some international rights. According to their plan, Boxer is to videotape their faked murder. Why that happens when the Taverners touch, only Richard Kelly knows. Original music was provided by Moby . Ambitious and arresting to the eye -- the gray palette serves the film well -- it's too bad that Southland Tales is also pretentious, chaotic, and tries too hard. Is "The Power" important for understanding "Southland Tales"? As a result of the attacks, Republicans win the November 2006 elections by a landslide (290 Republicans and 145 Democrats in the House) and they beef up the Patriot Act -- creating USIDent, a think tank that monitors, among other things, the Internet. It's just more physical. Nana Mae Frost (Miranda Richardson), the wife of Republican candidate Bobby Frost, inaugurates the Los Angeles USIDent headquarters. That's why he wakes up on the beach at the start of the movie. It exists under the Earth's mantle, circles the world like a "serpent," and, as the movie explains, is being used by the Baron to power his Utopia energy plants. She cuts the ribbon as USIDent employees -- dressed in windbreakers -- applaud. Jericho Cane is the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in "End of Days." Dwayne Johnson joined the cast in April 2005, and principal photography was slated to begin August 1, 2005 in Los Angeles. Starla Von Luft, the double-crossing USIDent employee, is reading a copy of "The Power" at work. Additionally, tracks from Radiohead, Louis Armstrong, Beethoven, Kris Kristofferson, and several tracks from Moby's Hotel:Ambient are likewise absent from the album. The film was released in the UK on December 7, 2007, exclusively to UK cinema chain Cineworld in a limited number of locations. There will be some dancing and singing, but it will be incorporated into the story in very logical scenarios as well as fantasy dream environments. Its story overlaps with the movie, so it explains some of the back story. Ronald and Roland Taverner, furthermore, are not twins, but copies of the same person. Martin climbs on top of the truck and launches a missile at the mega-zeppelin. What does the name Martin Kefauver refer to, other than to its anagram "Freak Man Virtue" and the late U.S. senator? "Howl [Extended Version]" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club4. Interview with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried", "Southland Tales director hopes to reunite with Dwayne Johnson for planned sequel", "Richard Kelly Talks 'Southland Tales', The Time Travel Prequel & His James Cameron-Inspired 'Donnie Darko' Sequel [Interview]", Southland Tales: Music From The Motion Picture, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southland_Tales&oldid=1140958996, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from July 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with dead external links from March 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Wave of Mutilation" (UK surf version) by, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 17:09. Links to many post-Cannes reviews, including multiple positive reviews by American, French, Spanish, Polish, and other reviewers. It stinks and we have to accept it. The current world ends, the joined souls become the new messiah, a new world begins. What do all the characters in the film keep on quoting from? Once there, Boxer meets Simon Theory, one of the Baron's employees. Its a film that is also smart enough to know that if a member of any profession were to guide us through the end of days, it might as well be a sex worker: practical, skilled in persuasion, as adept at reading minds as any psychic. The project was named "Serpentine Dream Theory." 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. It's a sign that he is at the edge of uncertainty as to who he is. It opened in Canada, as well as nationwide in the United States, in just 63 theaters,[6] on November 16, 2007. Janeane Garofalo appears as General Teena MacArthur. He played a character named "Donnie" in a movie with Boxer Santaros. He called it a "strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol and Philip K. The first time Fortunio appears in the film, he quotes Karl Marx ("Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval"), and several characters quote the song "Three Days" by Jane's Addiction ("We saw the shadows of the morning light/ The shadows of the evening sun/ Until the shadows and the light were one"). Two of the solders that participated in the experiment were Roland Taverner and Pilot Abilene. 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." Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire, She was designed as a sort of Arianna Huffington meets Jenna Jameson. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. In this article, Kelly is interviewed about some of the less straightforward aspects of Southland Tales. However, there was a promotional soundtrack that was given to members of the press when the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Before being drafted, Pilot Abilene was also a movie star. You know those overlooked classics that are critically ignored only to blossom into beautiful definitive works over time.like "Pinkerton" or "Starship Troo. These are (Book 1) Two Roads Diverge, (Book 2) Fingerprints and (Book 3) The Mechanicals. The other main reference points are T.S. Why is 'Kiss Me Deadly' featured numerous times in the film? Your body would learn to how to absorb all nutrients into the body, making defecation unnecessary.RONALD: "Hmmm. "ZORA: "You just wait and see." The movie begins in earnest when Boxer wakes up on a beach near the Santa Monica pier. 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. Boxer Santaros is an action star who's stricken with amnesia. Bing is freaked out by the murders, and decides that he no longer wants to be part of the group. NEXT UP REVOLVER (2005)!Southland Tales competed for. "[28] Salon.com critic Andrew O'Hehir called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen. Special features include a 33-minute documentary USIDent TV: Surveiling the Southland and a 10-minute animated short film This Is the Way the World Ends (which was not included on the R2 and R4 editions). 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. The Book of Revelation and Marxism have been connected by academicsboth advocate the overthrow of tyranny. Boxer diverts the attention away from the real messiah, who almost gets killed. Director: Richard Kelly. Edit, Revelation 22:5: "It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. Boxer receives a phone call from Starla Von Luft -- who is still under the impression that she is Dr. Muriel Fox -- and tells him to call Vaughn Smallhouse, one of Frost's assistants. Edit, Awards Boxer meets Fortunio on the beach after his rendezvous with Starla. After losing a game of cards, Fortunio needed to make his way back into California, and Krysta offered to set him up with a visa. "The Star Spangled Banner" by Rebekah del Rio & The Section Quartet14. According to Serpentine, "The future is just as [he] imagined.". A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. Why that happens when the Taverners touch, only Richard Kelly knows. Edit, It is a proposition on the ballot to restict US-IDent's powers. 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. Despite being critically and commercially unsuccessful, the film has developed a cult following in later years. The movie plays in the background in several scenes, and in the "Prequel Saga," Krysta tells Boxer it is his favorite movie. "Three Days [Live Version]" by Jane's Addiction15. One Taverner repeats, "friendly fire," while the other says, "I forgive you." For some reason, Wallace Shawn is dressed like a new-wave Japanese pimp. Surrounded by his entourage, which includes Serpentine (Bai Ling); the Baron's mother, Dr. Inga Von Westphalen (Marion Card); Dr. Katarina Kuntzler (Zelda Rubinstein) and Dr. Soberin Exx (Curtis Armstrong) -- all dressed like a Cirque du Soleil troupe -- the Baron explains how fluid karma works: by "quantum entanglement.". Edit, Fortunio found Boxer lying on a road in Nevada, so he saved him and both of them try and figure out a way to get across the Nevada border back into California. 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. The name may also reference the actor Fortunio Bonanova who starred as Carmen Trivago in the film Kiss Me Deadly, itself a considerable influence on Southland Tales. Boxer's original self was incinerated in a car bomb triggered by Serpentine, while the duplicate Boxer is still roaming. "[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. 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. When Krysta mentions that she is sleeping with Boxer Santaros, Cyndi decides to use this information to blackmail Boxer's father-in-law: Republican candidate Bobby Frost. Above him, Pilot Abilene (Justin Timberlake) sits in a gun turret and recites from the Book of Revelation, Robert Frost's poem "The Two Roads" and an inverted version of T.S. 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. 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. Edit, The Treer company is a German defense contractor that employs Dr. Inga Von Westphalen, a zeppelin designer and the Baron's mother. As part of the deal, the Baron has Serpentine cut off the prime minister's left hand. The Baron has built an enormous machine off the coast of California that generates an electromagnetic energy field called fluid karma. The director also sought to keep the musical number performed by Timberlake, based on "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers which he felt was the heart and soul of the film. Where does the information in this FAQ come from? After Roland Taverner came back from Iraq, he got a job as a police officer in Hermosa Beach, thanks to his father. A pregnant woman, a dragon and two beasts; They are the puppets of the Anti-ChristRevelation 22:12: When Fortunio and Boxer arrive at the rendezvous point, this is where the two are introduced to one another And why is he having an affair with Krysta Now? What are all of those tattoos on the body of Boxer Santaros (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)? 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. When Ronald arrives at the home of Fortunio Balducci (Will Sasso), a movie producer, to meet Boxer and Krysta, Boxer explains that he and Krysta have written a screenplay called "The Power," about a "paranoid schizophrenic cop" named Jericho Cane. It never becomes clear what exactly happened in the desert. The site's consensus states: "Southland Tales, while offering an intriguing vision of the future, remains frustratingly incoherent and unpolished. "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death"Revelation 11: What's Justin Timberlake doing in all of this? He said, "[The original script] was more about making fun of Hollywood. 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. Which quotes from the Books of Revelation are used in the film? "Forget Myself" by Elbow13. Everything and everyone is bedazzled in red, white, and blue; burgers and Buds are happily consumed on the lawn of every McMansion. Kelly's movie may not be entirely coherent, but that's because there's so much it wants to say. Southland Tales is a 2006 American dystopian comedy thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly. Ronald Taverner, meanwhile, has picked up Zora and Bing Zinneman, a new member of the Neo-Marxists. [19], Many critics responded unfavorably to the film's long running time and sprawling nature. They can use their telepathy as an advantage this way. "[12] He described the film as a "tapestry of ideas all related to some of the biggest issues that I think we're facing right now . The world ends. 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. He learns that "The Power" is correct: As a result of the Baron's Utopia projects, the world is coming to an end and the Earth's rotation is slowing down. 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 Southland Tales is a 2006 thriller and comedy-drama film and the second film of Richard Kelly. 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). 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