thanks for putting this up.

the AFI Film Festival was showing this Richard Kelly film, so I used it as an opportunity to see the picture before it comes out [the other two i get to see are "The Savages" and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," next weekend].

Southland Tales

Summing up "Southland Tales" is a really, really hard thing to do. If I had to use a word to describe it, I would have to go with "art." Art is something that can spark a lot of debate without being very political, and can be viewed from completely different perspectives and get completely different reactions. Art means that some people will flat-out adore this film, and some will flat-out despise it.

To be honest, I think I only understand about 20% of what I saw on-screen, if that. This film is WAY more complex than Richard Kelly's directorial outing, "Donnie Darko." And I absolutely respect it for that. In a time when the most popular movies are the most simple, this movie was made knowing that its audience would not be a large one, and threw away all movie norms and was willing to be one of the most original, intelligent, creative, and complicated movies that I've ever seen.

The plot is difficult to follow, because there is a lot going on, and a lot of characters make it even harder to follow [even if nearly everybody is played by somebody you've heard of or seen before]. The main plot follows Boxer Santeros, played by the slightly unconvincing but still solid Dwayne Johnson [or "The Rock" as some wish to call him], a man who returns to Los Angeles from the nearby desert with amnesia, unable to remember anything about who he is. As we learn throughout the film, his ties to Hollywood [he's an actor] and politics [he was married to the daughter of a Senator] make him a huge target for a lot of people, and everybody seems to be keen on finding him. At the same time, nuclear explosions in Texas, brought upon by terrorists, caused the War on Terror to get elevated to the next level, beginning World War 3, which gets very little attention here.

Then, everything gets set in motion - as we are informed by our narrator Justin Timberlake - when we discover that "this is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper...but with a bang." And that's exactly how this movie functions; from its political satirical commentary to its apocalyptic feel to its very close resemblance with the "Revelations" section of the Bible [as it is quoted throughout the film numerous times] to its science-fiction-y style, Richard Kelly is the absolute master of this film. He could have had somebody like Will Smith play the part of Boxer Santeros, but instead he went with a less-talented Dwayne Johnson, because he wanted the story to tell itself instead of relying on an in-depth performance.

The movie is a little slow at times, and even though it's a hell of a lot shorter than the version shown at Cannes, it could definitely have used another twenty minutes of trimming. However, the plot is so confusing and it's so hard to dissect everything that's going on that maybe if it was shorter, this would have even been more of a problem. There are so many characters with their own agendas and so much who-is-doing-what-to-who moments that you should value every image and second of footage that you can, because these are all the clues Kelly has left behind for the people who will spend years figuring this movie out, just as they did with his brilliant "Donnie Darko."

As far as actors are concerned, Kelly definitely was not going for beautiful, brilliant performances. That's why he hired relatively untalented actors such as Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Mandy Moore [although I must say Sean William Scott gave a surprisingly good performance here]. The reason he did this was because this movie isn't about acting, isn't about characters. It's about ideas, metaphors, allegorical references, and most importantly, conversation. You aren't going to remember Boxer Santeros when you walk out of the theater, you're going to remember all the many different bits of Kelly's imagination that filled up the corners of this enriching film.

A part of the film I particularly enjoyed - and which were commonly shown throughout - were the futuristic television broadcasts, there to give you a little hint of what was going on in the world. If you just stare at the screen and expect some text or voice to pop out at you and tell you what you need to know, you won't figure out anything from these little broadcasts. But if you look very closely at all the different headlines and images popping up across the screen, this is when you see all the many different brilliant elements of the film coming together, from explanations of what's going on outside of Los Angeles in the War on Terror [which has now elevated itself to World War 3] to little clever patriotic puns to little details regarding the characters we have been following. They give the film a much broader scale than one would otherwise take away from it.

I think that what Kelly has accomplished with "Southland Tales" is incredible, even if he did go a little overboard with all the elements of the story. With this and "Donnie Darko," he really has proven what a brilliant mind he has, and how he isn't about telling simple entertaining stories, but rich, complex, and textured stories with deep metaphorical content and plot twists that can be up for interpretation instead of attempting to explain everything. The only very obvious message that can be taken away from this picture is its very anti-Patriot Act ideas, as it takes place in a world where the government watches and controls everything. It's also very beautifully portrayed because, as you will notice as you watch the film, nearly every single camerashot features an American flag, showing how America wants Americans to think that it's the best country of all, especially in a terrorist world such as the one in this film...and in our world today.

I don't understand everything that I saw in "Southland Tales;" in fact, there is probably a lot about it that I couldn't figure out, and that anyone who simply goes out and sees it won't be able to pick out. But what I do know is that I saw a film that dared to be different, and even though it didn't succeed on every level, it was so intelligently made and so well thought-out that calling it a "failure" would be an absolutely incorrect thing to say. Cheers for the most original film of 2007!

A-

What......the........FUCK!

I'm rather unsure how to judge or grade this film. Hmmmmm

Well for one its neither as smart or as incisive at it thinks it is. The Patriot Act parody USIdent is about as well integrated into the story as dystopia done by a 5 year old, while all the babbling about revolution and apocalypse is only impressive in its superficial "look at me" delivery. Also the last 30 minutes needed to have been butchered in the editing room, it went completely off the reservation into lala land with its pontificating.

That said I did have to admire the way the film captured the listless manner of certain elements of Western Society like the wannabe leftists and such, but Jesus guys did you have to use the term Neo-Marxists so much? If it was the word used in a drinking game a person would be dead within the first hour.

As for the performances well considering the lightweight Thespians on duty they do pretty well. Sarah Michelle Gellar's showing survives on the dint of her acting all popcorn while spouting about "major world issue" And The Rock never disappoints me even thou he seems to be channelling his wrestling persona at points. And when Christopher Lambert appeared I nearly fell over, who the hell still gives that man work???

Still for everyone good performance or character there was bad ones, the silly German scientists and the barmy cameo by Jon Lovitz had me wanting to stab my eyeballs, and why did Kevin Smith have to be dressed up like a dishevelled hippy?

The Songs and soundtrack where superb however, the instrumentals haunting without overpowering scenes and the inserts of The Pixies or Justin Timberlake miming the Killers worked out far better then one could have hoped.

As a central cohesive story this film was a mess and I hate to see what the bloathed Cannes version was like, but its also full of little moments of visual brilliance and in the end I found myself liking it...............Just.

This is on DVD in a week and a half. I'll (finally) see it then.

Yeah, this is an odd one. For most of it's run-time it feels like you're just watching things happen and being told they're significant to each other somehow, but without ever really understanding why... then it all takes a surreal about turn and it seems Vizzini's behind the everything for some reason (revolution?) and Sean William Scott and his brother hold hands causing an ice cream truck to float into the sky, and the kid standing on it uses his bazooka to blow up the Zeppelin most of the cast is riding in (including the Rock, his wife and his mistress, who spend the moments leading up to the explosion inexplicably dancing together) before leaping to his death striking a Jesus Christ Pose. All of which seemingly for no reason.

I'm not entirely sure what happened at the end (did the world end? I'm not sure. Possibly because I was distracted by the blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance by Janeane Garofalo at Justin Timberlake's party).

That said, I was never bored. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say, I enjoyed it... For all it's oddness, ludicrous plot holes and over-indulgences. Like Gulli, I'm a little unsure how to grade it. I do feel it has the potential to be a cult film over time. Wouldn't mind seeing the original cut to be honest.

Hey Snrub what did you think of the scene on the beach with the suck my dick line? Comedy Gold I thought!

A film that is totally on drugs. I don't know how anyone could grade this movie.

yes, it certainly is a film on drugs. My A- grade is purely a measure of just how awe-inspiring it was to watch, and it was quite awe-inspiring, as it was truly unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm so glad Kelly didn't start making Hollywood pictures after his Donnie Darko success.

Caught me very much by surprise and was indeed hilarious!

Can anyone tell me what they think actually happened at the end there? Did the world actually end? Or did Sean William Scott just stay floating in mid air in that van forever and ever?

The world did actually end. I think the ending resembles the Book of Revelations in the bible. read this: http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature ... ndex3.html

I think this might become a Donnie Darko. There already seems to be an internet following.

There is? Where?

Thanks for the Salon article. Interesting read, even if it doesn't answer everything.

just google 'reaction to Southland Tales' and have a look at some of the articles. I don't think this is a movie you can just rate after one viewing, and this explains the many negative reviews.

http://www.richard-kelly.net/index.php , the forums are good (but bias), but many have links to other relevant articles and fan clubs around the place.

A frustrating film, but I agree that I never found myself bored... I actually found myself laughing a lot.

I'm surprised that I don't hate the film, since it's something that's never really coherent and easy to follow but... there's just something about it that's somewhat admirable.

I didn't really find this film as difficult as it is elusive. I get the sense that Kelly might have some good ideas (and there are many great ideas on display here) but that as a storyteller he is either the worst one in the history of the cinema or his David Lynch like tactics of purposely confusing the audience (making them feel stupid so he can pass it off as art perhaps?) is tiring and not worth the effort. After two films, I have to question whether he wishes to communicate with the audience at all or whether he has contempt for it.

I thought the resolution of the story was very Donnie Darko-esque and veered away from the cooler Revelations plotline into a Matter/Anti-Matter end of the universe. Yeah not the same as Donnie Darko... which played out it's "end of the world" on a personal scale with Jake's character, but on a global scale. *yawn*

Sean Williams Scott fares the best in this film, and the other actors act below their level (yes even Sarah Michelle Gellar can be much better than she was here). Lines like "The fourth dimension will collapse upon itself... you stupid bitch." and especially "Pimps don't commit suicide." didn't work the first time in the movie, and don't work the 2nd or 3rd time they are said either.

Other than that, there are characters that go nowhere, an alternate future which is neither humorous (Idiocrasy) or impactful (Blade Runner, Gattaca, even V for Vendetta) or anything at all... when the bomb goes off in El Paso (a scene which is great and feels like it's been filmed by a much more capable filmmaker) I failed to understand why the US would fall apart rather than unite more like they did on September 11th. This is a key to the story that I found more interesting and something that really wore away at the world for me. Kelly seems to be screaming that "shit's falling apart!!!!" but has a hard time expressing it through characters and instead cheats and has Timberlake's narration point the audience towards the conclusions which should be more obvious if he was a better filmmaker.

Yeah there are surprising moments, like the humping cars, the Killers semi-video (which, although pointless, is somewhat touching and a good facial performance by Timberlake).

But otherwise... when I spend my time during the movie picking apart the filmmaker, his plot points and his universe, it doesn't lead to a great movie going experience.

I did have to watch it twice. I would recommend it to people who want to see interesting, different movies, more like failed films. But not the general audience.

Well, this is one big fucking mess of a movie.

It's not so much that it's confusing - I basically understood what was going on - it's just that it doesn't form a cohesive whole - I don't know why any of what happened actually happened. I think a modern re-telling of the Book of Revelations could be really something, and I liked a lot of the political commentary and near-future prognostication, but it didn't combine into anything that made sense. It was just a lot of interesting stuff happening, loosely connected along, until it ends. Donnie Darko, on the other hand, was confusing but it made sense once you figured it out. This is just nonsense.

Why, for instance, does Kiss Me Deadly play throughout the film? There's a half-hearted reference to Pandora's Box that I guess makes sense, and they both have an apocalyptic tone, but that's it. Similarly, as much as I loved that JT-doing-The Killers music video, why that song? Was there any narrative or thematic purpose to "All These Things That I've Done"? If there is, I've no idea of it.

I suppose the problem is that it doesn't give enough backstory. I mean, there is that great opening montage of the past three years of this alternate future, but that's just a world to set the story in. There's nothing told about these characters. As soon as I saw the film started with Chapter IV, I knew it was in trouble. This isn't Star Wars. The film should have started at the beginning and finished at the end. No graphic novel tie-in. No assuming the viewer will know everything about these characters going in.

That said, the film does have its moments. The Killers music video is probably the best and most inspired thing in the whole film, but there's also some great surreal moments (Seann William Scott waving his hands in the mirror, the trippy dream sequences for example) and the allegorical nature of the film is pretty interesting (I liked that the Republicans running for office were named Eliot and Frost). It's just wrapped in this outer shell of utter shit, with an overly satirical tone and a rather moronic plot.

It really feels like a failure that could've been something, instead of a piece of shit that wasn't meant to be anything more. It'd be interesting to see what the Cannes cut was like.

Fascinating film, but also very flawed. I was slightly bothered throughout by the comedy elements -- half the cast is either a current or former "SNL" cast member -- and thought the film played best as an atmospheric, quirky musing on sociopolitics. Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott are solid in the lead roles, but I thought, gasp!, Justin Timberlake stole the show. Again and again, this 'N Sync icon has proven he CAN act. Here, he brings a haunted, sad quality to his character, an Iraq vet. The surreal sequence where he clumsily dances through a room while lip-syncing to The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" is stunning and perhaps the film's most impressive moment.

The music in general is very good and deserves a special mention. Moby's score alternates between beautiful and intense and expertly chosen cuts from Blur ("Tender"), the Pixies ("Wave of Mutilation"), and Radiohead (a live version of "Planet Telex") put a smile on my face.

Overall, I do not believe this deserved the dressing-down it received at Cannes. Nor did it deserve to be completely ignored in theatres during its brief, pathetic run. There is quality to be found here and is more than worth seeing. However, I can't deny: at certain points, it's hard NOT to wonder if Richard Kelly is simply being weird and overly cool for weird and cool's sake, trying to best Donnie Darko.

B

Is it just me or was Wood Harris a comedic genius in this movie.

I would have liked to see Kelly's first script, which according to Kevin Smith was more grounded in realism and played more like a straight comedy...more Pulp Fiction and Dr. Stranglove than Brazil.

I feel that Richard Roeper said it the best "Two hours and twenty four minutes of abstract crap." However, at least the crap was interseting. This movie started out with a great idea and spiraled downward since its inception.

Southland Tales

In a word - shite.

I can understand Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Sean William Scott, Christopher Lambert and Sarah Michelle Gellar wanting to star in this because they're kind of trashy actors, but I can't understand why someone like Miranda Richardson would want to star in this junk. I think the filmmakers were having a laugh at the studios expense; Cockchuggers, Deep Throat 2, FluidKarma, "I'm a pimp, and pimps don't commit suicide"....seriously? This is a total fucking joke.

Dwayne Johnson acted so badly that I was laughing. Richard Kelly is one terrible director. Donnie Darko was so-so, this is shite, and The Box was just so-so too. My suggestion is that if you want to watch this movie then skip the visuals and buy the soundtrack CD because the music in this is pretty special, it's just the movie it was attached to is complete crap. No wonder really as the music was done by Moby. Not even the music can save this film.

F