Southland Tales
Encyclopedia
Southland Tales is a 2006 American-Franco-German science fiction
dark comedy-drama film
written and directed by Richard Kelly
. The title refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California
and Greater Los Angeles
. Set in the then near future of an alternate history, the film is a portrait of Los Angeles
and a comment on the military-industrial news-tainment complex. The film features an ensemble cast
. Original music for the film
was provided by Moby
.
The film premiered May 21, 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
, where it received a largely negative reception. After significant edits, the final version premiered at Fantastic Fest
on September 22, 2007. It opened in limited release in California on November 14, 2007 and in Canada
as well as nationwide in United States
, in just 63 theaters, on November 16, 2007. The film opened in the United Kingdom
on December 7, 2007.
and Abilene, Texas
have fallen victim to twin nuclear attacks on July 4, 2005—a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions which has sent America into World War III. The PATRIOT Act has extended authority to a new agency known as US-IDent, which keeps constant tabs on citizens—even to the extent of censoring the Internet
and using fingerprints in order to access computers and bank accounts. In order to be able to respond to a newfound fuel shortage in the wake of global warfare, the German company Treer designs a generator of inexhaustible energy which is propelled by ocean currents, called "Fluid Karma". Unbeknownst to anyone but its inventor Baron von Westphalen (Wallace Shawn
) and his closest associates, the generators alter the currents and cause the Earth to slow its rotation, and the transmission of the energy to portable receivers (via quantum entanglement
) is ripping holes in the fabric of space and time.
In Los Angeles, a city on the brink of chaos overshadowed by the growth of the underground neo-Marxist movement, the film follows the criss-crossed destinies of Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), an action film actor stricken with amnesia; Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar
), ex-porn star in the midst of creating a reality TV show; and twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner (both Seann William Scott
), whose destinies—on one evening—become intertwined with that of all mankind. The twins are announced to be the same person by the engineers of Treer. Boxer becomes the most wanted man in the world with political ties. The future seems to be put in his hands.
wrote Southland Tales shortly before the September 11 attacks. The original script involved blackmail
, a porn star, and two cops. After the attacks, Kelly revised the script. He said, "[The original script] was more about making fun of Hollywood. But now it's about, I hope, creating a piece of science fiction that's about a really important problem we're facing, about civil liberties and homeland security and needing to sustain both those things and balance them." 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 . . . alternative fuel
or the increasing obsession with celebrity and how celebrity now intertwines with politics". 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
."
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. 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." Kelly said the film's biggest influences are Kiss Me Deadly
, Pulp Fiction
, Brazil
, and Dr. Strangelove. He called it a "strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol
and Philip K. Dick
". The film often references religious and literary works; a policeman says, "Flow my tears," in reference to a Philip K. Dick novel of that name
. ("Taverner" is the name of the main character in the same book and suffers identity problems of his own.) Pilot Abilene (Justin Timberlake
) quotes Biblical scripture from the Book of Revelation
in narrating the film and allusion is made both to Robert Frost
's The Road Not Taken
, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
and an altered version of T. S. Eliot
's The Hollow Men
.
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
, Jason Lee
, Janeane Garofalo
, Tim Blake Nelson
, Amy Poehler
, Kevin Smith
, and Ali Larter
. Musician Moby
was approached on composing and performing the film's score. Kelly consciously sought out actors that he felt had been pigeonholed and wanted to showcase their "undiscovered talents."
was slated to begin August 1, 2005 in Los Angeles
. Filming began on August 15, 2005, with a budget of around US$
15–17 million.
a rough cut of Southland Tales on DVD assuming that it would not be accepted. Much to his surprise, they loved it and wanted the film entered in competition for the Palme d'Or
. He stopped editing the film and was also unable to complete all of the visual effects in time for the screening. Kelly's film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
in May 2006 with a length of 160 minutes. Kelly describes the negative reaction at Cannes as a "very painful experience on a lot of levels" but ultimately felt that the film "was better off because of it". After the film's festival release, Southland Tales was purchased by Sony Pictures.
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. 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.
Kelly edited the film down to the basic storylines of the characters portrayed by Scott, Gellar, and Johnson. 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. Editorial changes were made to restructure the order of the film's scenes, including re-recording all of Timberlake's voice-over. The director also added 90 new visual effects shots to the film and removed 20 to 25 minutes of footage from his initial cut.
's "Blackout", The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done
", and Blur
's "Tender
". Additionally, tracks from Radiohead
, Louis Armstrong
, Beethoven, Kris Kristofferson
, and several tracks from Moby
's Hotel:Ambient
are likewise absent from the album. The reason for the exclusion of some of these tracks, like the song by The Killers was as a result of a dispute with the record label.
The track "Memory Gospel" is used from time to time by the CBC Radio One
program Q
in the background of an opening monologue given by host Jian Ghomeshi
.
s that would be released in a six-month period up to the film's release. The feature film comprises the final three parts of the experience. A website was also developed to intertwine with the graphic novels and the film itself. The idea of six graphic novels was later narrowed down to three. The novels were written by Kelly and illustrated by Brett Weldele
. Kelly wrote them while making the film and found it very difficult as it pushed him "to the edge of my own sanity", as he remarked in an interview.
They have been collected together into one single volume:
The titles of the parts in the film are:
on November 9, 2007 in partnership with Destination Films
and Sony Pictures. The release of the film, in just 63 theaters, was pushed back five days to November 14, 2007. The film was released in the UK on December 7, 2007 exclusively to UK cinema chain Cineworld
in only very few locations. Southland Tales did not receive cinema release in Australia or Western Sahara.
was released on March 18, 2008, in North America and the Region 2 release was on March 31, 2008, in the UK. The Australian retailer EzyDVD gives an April 30, 2008, release date on their website. 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 (not on UK R2 edition). On March 25, 2009, the R2 DVD was released in France.
Richard Kelly
has claimed on his MySpace
blog that he had very little time for the DVD as he was starting shooting on his next feature, The Box. However, he has stated several times that if Sony commissioned one (based on the sales of the current DVD), he'd happily be involved in a 'Director's Cut
' DVD in the future with more special features and deleted scenes from the Cannes cut.
On September 8, 2008, it was announced that it would be one of the five films being released on Blu-ray Disc
on November 18, 2008. The only new special feature announced was an audio commentary
by Kelly.
's Marie Antoinette
and Richard Linklater
's Fast Food Nation
), Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko
was in competition for the coveted Palme d'Or
at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
and was screened on May 21 at the Grand Lumiere Theater.
Critical reaction to the film in its original, longer form was almost entirely negative. Many critics responded unfavorably to the film's long running time and sprawling nature. Roger Ebert
described the Cannes screening as "The most disastrous since, yes, The Brown Bunny
." Salon.com
critic Andrew O'Hehir called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen." Jason Solomons, in The Observer
(UK
), said that "Southland Tales was so bad it made me wonder if [Kelly] had ever met a human being" and that ten minutes of the "sprawling, plotless, post-apocalyptic farrago" gave him the "sinking feeling that this may be one of the worst films ever presented in [Cannes] competition." A handful of the American and European critics, however, were more positive. Village Voice critic J. Hoberman
, for example, called Southland Tales "a visionary film about the end of times" comparable in recent American film only to David Lynch
's acclaimed Mulholland Drive
.
, 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 79 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 44 out of 100, based on 26 reviews.
Glenn Kenny, in his review for Premiere
criticized the film's style, "Kelly's camera placement and framing are at best textbook and at worst calamitously mediocre." 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. 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." 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."
On the program Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper
and guest critic Michael Phillips
gave the film a negative review. While Roeper called the film "Two hours and twenty four minutes of abstract crap," Phillips felt that "the film has a head on its shoulders despite that fact that it can't find any direction."
J. Hoberman defended the film, yet again, in his review for the theatrical cut. "In its willful, self-involved eccentricity, Southland Tales is really something else. Kelly's movie may not be entirely coherent, but that's because there's so much it wants to say." Manohla Dargis
also gave the film a positive review in The New York Times
, writing, "He doesn't make it easy to love his new film, which turns and twists and at times threatens to disappear down the rabbit hole of his obsessions. Happily, it never does, which allows you to share in his unabashed joy in filmmaking as well as in his fury about the times."
The film remains enigmatic to many viewers and even some of its makers. In a 2011 interview, Justin Timberlake himself confessed, "To me, Southland Tales is performance art. I still don't know what that movie is about [Laughs]."
275,380 in limited release
at the North American box office, and $99,363 elsewhere, making a worldwide total of $374,743, falling far short of the film's $15–17 million budget.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
dark comedy-drama film
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
written and directed by Richard Kelly
Richard Kelly (director)
James Richard Kelly is an American film director and writer, best known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001.-Early life:...
. The title refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
. Set in the then near future of an alternate history, the film is a portrait of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and a comment on the military-industrial news-tainment complex. The film features an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
. Original music for the film
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
was provided by Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
.
The film premiered May 21, 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
, where it received a largely negative reception. After significant edits, the final version premiered at Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror,...
on September 22, 2007. It opened in limited release in California on November 14, 2007 and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as well as nationwide in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in just 63 theaters, on November 16, 2007. The film opened in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on December 7, 2007.
Plot
El PasoEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
and Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
have fallen victim to twin nuclear attacks on July 4, 2005—a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions which has sent America into World War III. The PATRIOT Act has extended authority to a new agency known as US-IDent, which keeps constant tabs on citizens—even to the extent of censoring the Internet
Internet censorship
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
and using fingerprints in order to access computers and bank accounts. In order to be able to respond to a newfound fuel shortage in the wake of global warfare, the German company Treer designs a generator of inexhaustible energy which is propelled by ocean currents, called "Fluid Karma". Unbeknownst to anyone but its inventor Baron von Westphalen (Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
) and his closest associates, the generators alter the currents and cause the Earth to slow its rotation, and the transmission of the energy to portable receivers (via quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement occurs when electrons, molecules even as large as "buckyballs", photons, etc., interact physically and then become separated; the type of interaction is such that each resulting member of a pair is properly described by the same quantum mechanical description , which is...
) is ripping holes in the fabric of space and time.
In Los Angeles, a city on the brink of chaos overshadowed by the growth of the underground neo-Marxist movement, the film follows the criss-crossed destinies of Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), an action film actor stricken with amnesia; Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
), ex-porn star in the midst of creating a reality TV show; and twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner (both Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series...
), whose destinies—on one evening—become intertwined with that of all mankind. The twins are announced to be the same person by the engineers of Treer. Boxer becomes the most wanted man in the world with political ties. The future seems to be put in his hands.
Cast
- Dwayne Johnson as Boxer Santaros / Jericho Cane, an amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c action starAction filmAction film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
whose life crosses paths with Krysta Now. Santaros is married to Madeline Frost Santaros. - Seann William ScottSeann William ScottSeann William Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series...
as Private Roland Taverner / Officer Ronald Taverner, identical twin brothers, one who is a kidnapped U.P.U.2 officer in Hermosa Beach, CaliforniaHermosa Beach, CaliforniaHermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
, the other who is working for the neo-Marxist group who have told him he kidnapped and drugged his brother. - Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
as Krysta Now / Krysta Lynn Kapowski, an adult film star who is working on creating a reality TV show. Gellar met with Kelly and was drawn to the original ideas in his script for Southland Tales. - Mandy MooreMandy MooreAmanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
as Madeline Frost Santaros, Boxer Santaros' wife and daughter of Senator Bobby Frost. - Justin TimberlakeJustin TimberlakeJustin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
as Private Pilot Abilene, an Iraq War veteran. He narrates the film and also performs a musical number. - Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
as Nana Mae Frost, the ambitious antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the film, Boxer's mother-in-law is the head of US-IDent. - Wallace ShawnWallace ShawnWallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
as Baron von Westphalen, a villain who utilizes ocean waves to create a source of power. He is the great-grandson of Jenny von WestphalenJenny von WestphalenBaroness Johanna Bertha Julie "Jenny" von Westphalen was the wife of the philosopher Karl Marx. They became engaged in 1836 and married in 1843. They had six children.- Background :...
. - Bai LingBai LingBai Ling is a Chinese actress known for her work in films such as The Crow, Red Corner and Wild Wild West, and in TV series such as Entourage and Lost. In 2011 she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr...
as Serpentine, the Baron's sultry girlfriend who is seen quite often through the film, she serves as an ambiguious character that knows more than she lets on. - Nora DunnNora DunnNora Eloise Dunn is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
as Cyndi Pinziki, a porn director and principal member of USIDeath, an organization with plans to destroy US-IDent. - John LarroquetteJohn LarroquetteJohn Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
as Vaughn Smallhouse, an advisor to Senator Bobby Frost. - Kevin SmithKevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
as Simon Theory, a legless Iraq War veteran who works for Baron von Westphalen. - Holmes OsborneHolmes OsborneHolmes Osborne is an American actor, best known for starring in Richard Kelly's films - Donnie Darko , Southland Tales and The Box . He's also played the father of Guy Patterson in the movie That Thing You Do!, and starred in the movie Bring it On. He has made appearances in TV shows such as...
as Senator Bobby Frost - Wood HarrisWood HarrisSherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO television drama The Wire, and as high-school football player Julius Campbell in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans.-Life and career:Harris was born in...
as Dion Element - Cheri OteriCheri OteriCheri Oteri is an American comic actress, best known for her roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.-Personal life:...
as Zora Carmichaels - Jon LovitzJon LovitzJonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
as Bart Bookman - Jill RitchieJill RitchieJill Susanne Ritchie is an American actress born on March 5, 1974 in Romeo, Michigan.She starred in the 2004 film D.E.B.S. and in Breakin' All the Rules, and had a guest role as Bluth family publicist Jessie in an episode of Arrested Development. She co-starred in the VH1 television series I Hate...
as Shoshana Kapowski / Shoshana Cox - Amy PoehlerAmy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
as Veronica "Dream" Mung - Lou Taylor PucciLou Taylor PucciLou Taylor Pucci is an American actor who first appeared on film in Rebecca Miller's well received Personal Velocity: Three Portraits in 2002....
as Martin Kefauver - Curtis ArmstrongCurtis ArmstrongCurtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
as Dr. Soberin Exx - Beth GrantBeth GrantBeth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
as Dr. Inga von Westphalen - Christopher LambertChristopher LambertChristophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
as Walter Mung - Zelda RubinsteinZelda RubinsteinZelda Rubinstein was an American actress and human rights activist, best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movie Poltergeist and its sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side , and Poltergeist III . Playing 'Ginny', she was a regular on David E...
as Katarina Kuntzler - Will SassoWill SassoWilliam "Will" Sasso is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.-Early life:...
as Fortunio Balducci - Janeane GarofaloJaneane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
(cut from theatrical releaseDeleted sceneIn Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
) as Lieutenant General Teena MacArthur
Production
Richard KellyRichard Kelly (director)
James Richard Kelly is an American film director and writer, best known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001.-Early life:...
wrote Southland Tales shortly before the September 11 attacks. The original script involved blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
, a porn star, and two cops. After the attacks, Kelly revised the script. He said, "[The original script] was more about making fun of Hollywood. But now it's about, I hope, creating a piece of science fiction that's about a really important problem we're facing, about civil liberties and homeland security and needing to sustain both those things and balance them." 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 . . . alternative fuel
Alternative fuel
Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...
or the increasing obsession with celebrity and how celebrity now intertwines with politics". 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
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
."
Kelly said: "[Southland Tales] will only be a musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
in a post-modern sense of the word in that it is a hybrid of several genres. 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." Kelly said the film's biggest influences are Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly is a 1955 film noir drama produced and directed by Robert Aldrich starring Ralph Meeker. The screenplay was written by A.I. Bezzerides, based on the Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer mystery novel Kiss Me, Deadly. Kiss Me Deadly is often considered a classic of the noir genre. The film...
, Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
, and Dr. Strangelove. He called it a "strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
". The film often references religious and literary works; a policeman says, "Flow my tears," in reference to a Philip K. Dick novel of that name
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a 1974 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick about a genetically enhanced pop singer and television star who loses his identity overnight. The story is set in a futuristic dystopia, where America has become a police state after a Second Civil War. The novel...
. ("Taverner" is the name of the main character in the same book and suffers identity problems of his own.) Pilot Abilene (Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
) quotes Biblical scripture from the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
in narrating the film and allusion is made both to Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
's The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim...
, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem written in 1922 by Robert Frost, and published in 1923 in his New Hampshire volume. Imagery and personification are prominent in the work...
and an altered version of T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's The Hollow Men
The Hollow Men
The Hollow Men is a major poem by T. S. Eliot. Its themes are, like many of Eliot's poems, overlapping and fragmentary, but it is recognised to be concerned most with post-World War I Europe under the Treaty of Versailles , the difficulty of hope and religious conversion, and, as some critics...
.
Casting
In March 2004, Kelly and Cherry Road Films began development of Southland Tales. Filmmakers entered negotiations with actors Seann William ScottSeann William Scott
Seann William Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series...
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
, Jason Lee
Jason Lee (actor)
Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
, Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
, Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
, Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
, and Ali Larter
Ali Larter
Alison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the dual roles of Niki Sanders and Jessica Sanders on the NBC science fiction drama Heroes as well as her guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s.Larter's screen debut came in the 1999 film...
. Musician Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
was approached on composing and performing the film's score. Kelly consciously sought out actors that he felt had been pigeonholed and wanted to showcase their "undiscovered talents."
Filming
Filming was slated to begin in July 2004, but after a year, it had not begun. Dwayne Johnson joined the cast in April 2005, and principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
was slated to begin August 1, 2005 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Filming began on August 15, 2005, with a budget of around US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15–17 million.
Post-production
Kelly sent the organizers of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
a rough cut of Southland Tales on DVD assuming that it would not be accepted. Much to his surprise, they loved it and wanted the film entered in competition for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
. He stopped editing the film and was also unable to complete all of the visual effects in time for the screening. Kelly's film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
in May 2006 with a length of 160 minutes. Kelly describes the negative reaction at Cannes as a "very painful experience on a lot of levels" but ultimately felt that the film "was better off because of it". After the film's festival release, Southland Tales was purchased by Sony Pictures.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie 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. 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.
Kelly edited the film down to the basic storylines of the characters portrayed by Scott, Gellar, and Johnson. The director also sought to keep the musical number performed by Timberlake, based on "All These Things That I've Done
All These Things That I've Done
"All These Things That I've Done" is a song performed by The Killers, and written by lead vocalist Brandon Flowers. The song appears on their debut album Hot Fuss. It was released as the third single in 2004 in the United Kingdom and as the fourth single in the United States...
" by The Killers which he felt was the heart and soul of the film. Editorial changes were made to restructure the order of the film's scenes, including re-recording all of Timberlake's voice-over. The director also added 90 new visual effects shots to the film and removed 20 to 25 minutes of footage from his initial cut.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Southland Tales was released in stores and online on November 6, 2007. Amongst the songs not available on the soundtrack but featured in the film are MuseMuse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
's "Blackout", The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done
All These Things That I've Done
"All These Things That I've Done" is a song performed by The Killers, and written by lead vocalist Brandon Flowers. The song appears on their debut album Hot Fuss. It was released as the third single in 2004 in the United Kingdom and as the fourth single in the United States...
", and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
's "Tender
Tender (song)
"Tender" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It is the first track on Blur's sixth album 13 and was also released as the lead single before the album's release...
". Additionally, tracks from Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Beethoven, Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, and several tracks from Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
's Hotel:Ambient
Hotel (album)
Hotel is the seventh studio album by American electronica musician Moby, first released internationally on March 14, 2005 and then on March 22, 2005 in the United States. Hotel was recorded under the Pacha label and mixed at Moby's apartment, Electric Lady Studios, and Loho Studios in Manhattan,...
are likewise absent from the album. The reason for the exclusion of some of these tracks, like the song by The Killers was as a result of a dispute with the record label.
The track "Memory Gospel" is used from time to time by the CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
program Q
Q (radio show)
Q is a Canadian radio show, which airs on CBC Radio One. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, the program is a national arts magazine show. The program is also now syndicated to public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio International....
in the background of an opening monologue given by host Jian Ghomeshi
Jian Ghomeshi
Jian Ghomeshi is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician and producer of Iranian descent who was raised in Thornhill, Ontario. Now based in Toronto, he is the host of the national daily cultural affairs talk program, Q, on CBC Radio One and Bold TV...
.
Marketing
Southland Tales was initially planned to be a nine-part "interactive experience", with the first six parts published in six 100-page graphic novelGraphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s that would be released in a six-month period up to the film's release. The feature film comprises the final three parts of the experience. A website was also developed to intertwine with the graphic novels and the film itself. The idea of six graphic novels was later narrowed down to three. The novels were written by Kelly and illustrated by Brett Weldele
Brett Weldele
Brett Weldele is an American comics artist and originally from Great Falls, Montana.-Biography:Weldele attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and received his BFA there in Sequential art....
. Kelly wrote them while making the film and found it very difficult as it pushed him "to the edge of my own sanity", as he remarked in an interview.
- Part One: Two Roads DivergeTwo Roads DivergeTwo Roads Diverge is a graphic novel written in conjunction with the film Southland Tales. It is Part One of the Southland Tales saga. The novel was written by Richard Kelly - who also directed the film - and illustrated by Brett Weldele...
(May 25, 2006, ISBN 093621175X) - Part Two: FingerprintsFingerprints (graphic novel)Fingerprints is a graphic novel written in conjunction with the film Southland Tales. It is Part Two of the Southland Tales saga. The novel was written by Richard Kelly - who also directed the film and illustrated by Brett Weldele...
(September 15, 2006, ISBN 0936211768) - Part Three: The MechanicalsThe MechanicalsThe Mechanicals is a graphic novel written in conjunction with the film Southland Tales. It is Part Three of the Southland Tales saga. The novel was written by Richard Kelly - who also directed the film and illustrated by Brett Weldele...
(January 31, 2007, ISBN 0936211776)
They have been collected together into one single volume:
- Southland Tales: The Prequel SagaSouthland Tales: The Prequel SagaSouthland Tales: The Prequel Saga is a compilation of graphic novels written in conjunction with the film Southland Tales. The graphic novels featured are the first half of the Southland Tales story . The novels were written by Richard Kelly - who also directed the film and illustrated by Brett...
(360 pages, Graphitti Designs, ISBN 0936211806)
The titles of the parts in the film are:
- Part Four: Temptation Waits
- Part Five: Memory Gospel
- Part Six: Wave of Mutilation
Theatrical release
Southland Tales was originally scheduled to be released in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 9, 2007 in partnership with Destination Films
Destination Films
Destination Films is Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions' independent film division. The company was originally founded and established by Brent Baum and Steve Stabler in 1999. The logo is two halves of a ring formed at the top and the bottom with a line with a crescent on one end and a star on...
and Sony Pictures. The release of the film, in just 63 theaters, was pushed back five days to November 14, 2007. The film was released in the UK on December 7, 2007 exclusively to UK cinema chain Cineworld
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
in only very few locations. Southland Tales did not receive cinema release in Australia or Western Sahara.
Home media
The Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on March 18, 2008, in North America and the Region 2 release was on March 31, 2008, in the UK. The Australian retailer EzyDVD gives an April 30, 2008, release date on their website. 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 (not on UK R2 edition). On March 25, 2009, the R2 DVD was released in France.
Richard Kelly
Richard Kelly (director)
James Richard Kelly is an American film director and writer, best known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001.-Early life:...
has claimed on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blog that he had very little time for the DVD as he was starting shooting on his next feature, The Box. However, he has stated several times that if Sony commissioned one (based on the sales of the current DVD), he'd happily be involved in a 'Director's Cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
' DVD in the future with more special features and deleted scenes from the Cannes cut.
On September 8, 2008, it was announced that it would be one of the five films being released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on November 18, 2008. The only new special feature announced was an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Kelly.
Cannes Film Festival
Along with two other American filmmakers (Sofia CoppolaSofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
's Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (2006 film)
Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
and Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's Fast Food Nation
Fast Food Nation (film)
Fast Food Nation is a 2006 American/British drama film directed by Richard Linklater. The screenplay was written by Linklater and Eric Schlosser, loosely based on the latter's bestselling 2001 non-fiction book of the same name...
), Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...
was in competition for the coveted Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
and was screened on May 21 at the Grand Lumiere Theater.
Critical reaction to the film in its original, longer form was almost entirely negative. Many critics responded unfavorably to the film's long running time and sprawling nature. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
described the Cannes screening as "The most disastrous since, yes, The Brown Bunny
The Brown Bunny
The Brown Bunny is a 2003 independent American art house film written, produced and directed by actor Vincent Gallo about a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunted by memories of his former lover. The film had its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival to boos and catcalls...
." Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
critic Andrew O'Hehir called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen." Jason Solomons, in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
(UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), said that "Southland Tales was so bad it made me wonder if [Kelly] had ever met a human being" and that ten minutes of the "sprawling, plotless, post-apocalyptic farrago" gave him the "sinking feeling that this may be one of the worst films ever presented in [Cannes] competition." A handful of the American and European critics, however, were more positive. Village Voice critic J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
James Lewis Hoberman , also known as J. Hoberman, is an American film critic. He is currently the senior film critic for The Village Voice, a post he has held since 1988.-Education:...
, for example, called Southland Tales "a visionary film about the end of times" comparable in recent American film only to David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's acclaimed Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive (film)
Mulholland Drive is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological thriller written and directed by David Lynch, starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, and Laura Harring. The surrealist film was highly acclaimed by many critics and earned Lynch the Prix de la mise en scène at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival...
.
Critical reception
The film received wildly divided reviews from critics. As of February 6, 2008, on the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 79 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 44 out of 100, based on 26 reviews.
Glenn Kenny, in his review for Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
criticized the film's style, "Kelly's camera placement and framing are at best textbook and at worst calamitously mediocre." In her review for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Carina Chocano wrote, "You get the sense that Kelly is too angry to really find any of it funny. 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." David Edelstein
David Edelstein
David Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
's review in New York magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
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."
On the program Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
and guest critic Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
gave the film a negative review. While Roeper called the film "Two hours and twenty four minutes of abstract crap," Phillips felt that "the film has a head on its shoulders despite that fact that it can't find any direction."
J. Hoberman defended the film, yet again, in his review for the theatrical cut. "In its willful, self-involved eccentricity, Southland Tales is really something else. Kelly's movie may not be entirely coherent, but that's because there's so much it wants to say." Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
also gave the film a positive review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, writing, "He doesn't make it easy to love his new film, which turns and twists and at times threatens to disappear down the rabbit hole of his obsessions. Happily, it never does, which allows you to share in his unabashed joy in filmmaking as well as in his fury about the times."
The film remains enigmatic to many viewers and even some of its makers. In a 2011 interview, Justin Timberlake himself confessed, "To me, Southland Tales is performance art. I still don't know what that movie is about [Laughs]."
Box office performance
Southland Tales grossed US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
275,380 in limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
at the North American box office, and $99,363 elsewhere, making a worldwide total of $374,743, falling far short of the film's $15–17 million budget.
See also
- 2007 in film2007 in filmThis is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
- List of American films of 2007
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- Cinema of FranceCinema of FranceThe Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
- Cinema of GermanyCinema of GermanyCinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...