Edit, Fred Zinnemann, the well-known movie director of the 1950s and 60s, maybe? 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. Running time: 160 minutes. Also, a very subtle reference took place when Bart Bookman (Jon Lovitz) had just killed Dream and Dion: he said "Flow my tears". A blockade in the Strait of Hormuz impedes the flow of oil to the United States, causing an increased demand for alternative fuel sources. He's the best friend of Seann William Scott's character (Roland Taverner), so he's witness to the resurrection. A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. Martin climbs on top of the truck and launches a missile at the mega-zeppelin. Bing is freaked out by the murders, and decides that he no longer wants to be part of the group. Published May 20, 2016. Dwayne Johnson joined the cast in April 2005, and principal photography was slated to begin August 1, 2005 in Los Angeles. 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. Jericho Cane is the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in "End of Days.". Then why do people keep on injecting it into their neck? Roland manages to escape, climb onto the roof, and fall into a dumpster. Certainly, the future as depicted here is deeply complex. The Cannes boo is the annual terrorist attack of . Ultimately, we may have to vote with our thumbs at some point. So "The Power" is an adaptation of the Book of Revelation, written by a character in a movie called "Southland Tales" that is itself an adaptation of a screenplay based on the Book of Revelation? All rights reserved. What's Justin Timberlake doing in all of this? And "pimp?" It's too bad, because "Southland Tales" is one of the more interesting and ambitious American films in recent memory. 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. What happens in the screenplay? Roland Taverner, his (alleged) twin -- a racist cop -- is sitting unconscious in the main room, having been kidnapped and drugged by the Neo-Marxists. Once it was discovered, they sent monkeys through it, which failed (Boxer claims that only a human soul could survive the trip). Unfortunately, Kefauver and Ronald's Hummer soon collides with the ice cream truck carrying Roland. 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. Again, we're not entirely sure. In the universe of the film, Dr. Inga Von Westphalen is also the granddaughter of Jenny Von Westphalen, Karl Marx's wife. Edit, "The Power" is a pretty hilarious piece of work. According to their plan, Boxer is to videotape their faked murder. That would be Fluid Karma. Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire, They're representations of every major religion on Earth. "ZORA: "A modified organic diet and transcendental meditation. Scientists are saying the futures going to be far more futuristic than they originally predicted, Krysta suggests, as if this helped to explain anything. Southland Tales premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and received so much negative feedback that the studio reworked the film. Senator. Edit, Richard Kelly stated in his interview with Empire magazine; that the irony is, he's sort of the decoy messiah, and it ends up that Seann William Scott (Roland Taverner) is the true one. The mega-zeppelin launch is at hand. After Roland Taverner came back from Iraq, he got a job as a police officer in Hermosa Beach, thanks to his father. Why does Pilot dream about the song "All These Things I've Done" by The Killers? In the hopes of helping you make sense of the movie, we've decided to unravel "Southland Tales" as we've done for "Mulholland Drive," "The Wire" and, of course, "Donnie Darko." These are all references to the seven plagues that precede the destruction of Babylon. Feb. 7, 2021. The truck is his horse and the rocket launcher his sword.Dream and Dion: Serpentine explains that the world is coming to an end; the rotation of the Earth is slowing at a rate of .000000006 mile per hour every day. "And God wiped the tears from his eyes, so the new Messiah could see out to the New Jerusalem." The police break into Neo-Marxist headquarters and kill Kenny Chan. Janeane Garofalo appears as General Teena MacArthur. Boxer appears at the Santa Monica pier to meet Starla Von Luft. Krysta is brought to the Frost mansion, where she is confronted by Madeline. The other characters have all played their part and are redeemed in the end to enjoy eternal life. Kelly sent the organizers of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival a rough cut of Southland Tales on DVD assuming that it would not be accepted. As the movie suggests, the Baron conducted secret experiments, headed by Simon Theory, with soldiers in Iraq. [36], 41% of 106 reviews compiled by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and the average rating is 4.9 out of 10. 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. If these scenes are anything to go by, very minuscule moments in them that were cut can be noticed and they are now more compact and give the bare essentials in the theatrical cut. "Forget Myself" by Elbow13. You could argue that all of "Southland Tales" occurs in the Tangent Universe -- hence the film's alternate history of the past three years, and its weird mishmash of pop culture. Why does the movie start with Boxer Santaros asleep on a beach? Why that happens when the Taverners touch, only Richard Kelly knows. Musician Moby was approached on composing and performing the film's score. Presumably, Tab was afraid that the Baron's people would find out that Roland had survived the trip through the time rift. Why does the messiah (e.g. Also, they had sex. "[39] In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Carina Chocano wrote, "You get the sense that Kelly is too angry to really find any of it funny. The name Treer is a reference to Trier, Marx's birthplace. Initial release: May 21, 2006. ------------------------------------------. Fortunio and his buddies break into USIDent, killing all of the employees, including Nana Mae Frost. What's up with Baron Von Westphalen (Wallace Shawn)? Ronald persuades him not to commit suicide, and the two decide to go to Mexico. In fact, Marx was indirectly influenced by the Book of Revelation in his writing. She is pursued by Zora and Bart, who have discovered that Krysta has taken Dion and Dream's murder tape by mistake. Additionally, tracks from Radiohead, Louis Armstrong, Beethoven, Kris Kristofferson, and several tracks from Moby's Hotel:Ambient are likewise absent from the album. 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. Elsewhere, in a luxurious apartment, Boxer crawls into bed with Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a former porn star with a reality television show. "The Power" is a pretty hilarious piece of work. Ronald walks up to Martin Kefauver's Hummer, which is parked near the ocean. What's the deal with the Treer company, and why are there all these references to Karl Marx? "3 Steps" by Moby9. The site's consensus states: "Southland Tales, while offering an intriguing vision of the future, remains frustratingly incoherent and unpolished. How meta. Roland runs to meet him inside the ice cream truck. "[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. The Book of Revelation is the last book in the New Testament. [18] Much to his surprise, they loved it and wanted the film entered in competition for the Palme d'Or. Anything important or cool? Violence has erupted throughout the city. Would a tide-powered electrical generator actually contradict the Second Law of Thermodynamics? "Tiny Elephants" by Moby12. Tide power, and the wireless transmission of electricity, are scientific realities. Messiah ( forgives sins)"I forgive you. Suddenly, a bright light appears through windows and a mushroom cloud rises in the distance: Abilene has been nuked. In Donnie Darko, the world ends when the Tangent Universe collapses, which may also be what happens at the end of Southland Tales. He then asked her to forecast the last three days on Earth, and she made her prediction in the form of a screenplay: "The Power." 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. Cane loses consciousness. 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. The baby, she explains, is the Messiah, and Jericho is his guardian. Edit, We're not entirely sure. Roland and Ronald are the Messiah and in the end they find each other and save humanity through the power of forgiveness. For some reason, Wallace Shawn is dressed like a new-wave Japanese pimp. The other main reference points are T.S. "[28] Salon.com critic Andrew O'Hehir called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen. "Lucky Me" by Roger Webb8. They claim to have read his screenplay. The current world ends, the joined souls become the new messiah, a new world begins. His follow-up is a decidedly post-9/11 story, haunted by the Iraq War. Edit, It is a mechanical ball (built by Treer) which acts as remote antennas for the wireless electricity energy fields powered by Fluid Karma. Her new screenplay, co-written with an amnesiac movie star with the extremely macho name Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), outlines the apocalypse as she is certain it will happen. They decided to take advantage of her powers. What does the phrase "Do You Bleed" mean? And, of course, gets corrupted and goes mad. 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. Its story overlaps with the movie, so it explains some of the back story. A conversation between Zora and Ronald in "Fingerprints" (Book 2 of the graphic novels) sheds some light on this: 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. 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." However, there are several in the graphic novel "The Prequel Saga." The screenplay ends at a McDonald's restaurant, when Caleb starts belching noxious gas and launching fireballs. When Southland Tales was released in 2006, it confounded filmgoers.A dense, sprawling science-fiction tale, Southland Tales throws the war on terror, the surveillance state, Hollywood, and the Book of Revelation into a blender and purees that unlikely mix into a stylish, acerbic film that we're still trying to figure out. In the graphic novels, Krysta says it's Boxer's favourite film. As they drive, Boxer continues to talk about his screenplay, explaining a subplot involving a miracle baby that doesn't produce bowel movements. "Southland Tales" opens on July 4, 2005, in Abilene, Texas. (Krystas pop album is called Teen Horniness is Not a Crime.) It's a sign that he is at the edge of uncertainty as to who he is. 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. In March 2004, Kelly and Cherry Road Films began development of Southland Tales. The three perform an abstract dance. For . It's. The Baron has built an enormous machine off the coast of California that generates an electromagnetic energy field called fluid karma. This is a reference to a Philip K. Dick book called Flow My Tears the Policeman Said. It's OK to be confused by Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales.". This is because, at the end of the day, Southland Tales is a very indulgent, very silly and weirdly endearing film that all manages to come together in a near indescribable sweet spot. It stinks and we have to accept it. [42], J. Hoberman defended the film, yet again, in his review for the theatrical cut. [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. 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. As part of his job, Jericho must tattoo a symbol from every world religion onto his body and, when the Messiah reaches maturity, the "winning" religion's symbol will bleed snake blood. Most of the screenplay is included in the "Prequel Saga.". On the mega-zeppelin, Krysta Now performs a dance number. Singer Rebekah Del Rio, who (as herself) performs the "Star Spangled Banner" onboard the mega-zeppelin, is also featured in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive." Although he recognizes Madeline as his wife, she remains unimpressed and demands to know why he disappeared. Together the two have written a screenplay, called "The Power," that tells the story of the end of the world. "[29], The film remains enigmatic to many viewers and even some of its makers. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. "Southland Tales" also borrows from "Repo Man," which ends with a flying car. Fluid karma also makes telepathy possible between those that are using it. 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. Due to the poor reception they received at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and still without a distributor, Richard Kelly went back and re-edited the film, trimming out 20-25 minutes worth of footage and adding approximately a hundred or so extra visual effects shots. What do all the characters in the film keep on quoting from? 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