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Southland Tales: Difference between revisions
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[[File:southland-tales-poster-0_2605.jpg|frame|[[Mood Dissonance|Have A Nice]] [[The End of the World
{{quote| ''"[[Arc Words|This is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper...but with a bang]]."''}}
''Southland Tales'' is a 2007 [[Science Fiction]]/[[Black Comedy]] film from director Richard Kelly, the follow-up to his 2001 cult hit ''[[Donnie Darko]]''. While planned as a mainstream breakthrough, things didn't really pan out that way. The combination of a large budget and Sony's decision to shelve the film after lackluster showings in a handful of cities means that it's not likely to show profit for years to come. Nonetheless, ST did make some critics' year's best lists and has found a modest [[Cult Classic|cult]] on DVD.
The plot is difficult to summarize, and considered intensely nonsensical by many, but here's a thumbnail version. After a nuclear attack in Texas, the government has taken a more authoritarian role. There are several interlaced conspiracies for and against it, with the constantly infighting Neo-Marxists being the most notable opposition group. A dandyish scientist (Wallace Shawn) who has developed a way of deriving energy from ocean current seems to have a hand in everything. And oh yeah, all of time and space seem to be on the edge of self-destruction. It really, really helps if you are at least passingly familiar with the [[
Imagine if you will [[Mulholland Drive]] mixed with [[Armageddon]]. Or an American [[
The cast is led by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott and narrator [[Justin Timberlake]]. Many of the secondary roles are filled by comedians, and specifically ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' veterans.
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* [[Noodle Incident]]: The film never explains what happened between Tavener and Pilot in Fallujah. {{spoiler|It's revealed in the comic and passingly hinted at in the film that while under the influence of fluid karma Roland accidentally scarred Pilot's face with a grenade.}}
* [[Playing Against Type]]: The cast. See [[What the Hell Casting Agency]] below for more information.
* [[Playing
* [[Psychic Link]]: One of the many effects of Fluid Karma.
* [[Read the Fine Print]]: Baron von Westphalen says this to the Prime Minister of Japan after {{spoiler|cutting off his left hand.}}
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* [[Show Within a Show]]: Krysta Now's script, "The Power".
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** [[Philip K. Dick|"Flow my tears, the policeman said."]]
** Almost all the chapters are allusions: ''Two Roads Diverge'' is an allusion to [[Robert Frost]], ''Fingerprints'' likely to Leonard Cohen, ''Temptation Waits'' to [[Garbage]] and ''Memory Gospel'' to [[Moby]]. The final chapter is called [[Pixies|Wave of Mutilation]]. ''The Mechanicals'' is named after an improv group that Kelly took a liking too and who bit parts in the film.
** The corrupt senator and his running mate are named [[Robert Frost|Frost]] and [[
{{quote| [[
** Possible parody of ''[[Left Behind]]'': The character of Fortunio Balducci, the Baron's [[The Mole|Mole]]. [[Word of God]] confirms that, following the Book of Revelation, Fortunio is the False Prophet. His counterpart's name in ''Left Behind''? Leon Fortunato.
* [[Tag-Along Actor]]: Boxer with Taverner.
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* [[We ARE Struggling Together!]]: The Neo-Marxists.
* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: As it is a Richard Kelly film, everything IS symbolic.
* [[WTH? Casting Agency]]: The entire cast. [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] cast as a porn star, [[Dwayne Johnson]] cast as an amnesiac, and very dweebish actor, engaged to [[Mandy Moore]], playing a foulmouthed heiress, Sean William Scott playing two traumatised soldiers with identity issues, [[Amy Poehler]] and Wood Harris as extremely stupid terrorists, [[Justin Timberlake]] as the disturbed and disfigured narrator, [[Kevin Smith]] as an Iraq War veteran, [[Wallace Shaun]] as a glam-rock criminal mastermind, Bai Ling as his laconic girlfriend, that kid from ''Thumbsucker'' playing a street punk, Christopher Lambert playing a small-time arms dealer, and Jon Lovitz as a terrifyingly dead-eyed neo-nazi cop. It may not be spot-on, but damn it it's surreal to see these actors [[Playing Against Type|in roles so different to how you'd assume them to play]]. <br /><br />This was actually done quite intentionally, although (like a lot of the film) the intended effect is not really that clear. In other words, the setup is there but the punchline isn't. Excerpted from an Internet-based article: "The biggest disappointment of Southland Tales resides in its most promising conceit, a cast populated by B-to-D-list celebrities ranging from Wallace Shawn to Zelda Rubenstein to Christopher Lambert. There's a wealth of satirical material to be found in [this] generation's curious veneration of kitsch, and I'd hoped Kelly's cast list indicated a deeper explanation of the connection between pop culture and regression touched upon in Donnie Darko..." (Full article [http://cinevistaramascope.blogspot.com/2008/04/pimps-dont-commit-suicide.html here.])
** Also done in-universe, as the Neo-Marxists inform Boxer he was cast as a racist cop for a "movie" (in truth, an attempt to convince him their plans are [[All Part of the Show]]).
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