“Staff Picks” is a deeper look into movies that we love here at Video CULTure. Each edition of this column will focus on a single film that we think you should check out, either for the first time or for a long-overdue revisit
By Robb Antequera (Twitter: @TheCineDrunkie)
Made in 2005, but not released until 2007, Southland Tales was the highly anticipated follow up to Richard Kelly’s much beloved debut, the instant cult classic Donnie Darko. Critics and audiences eagerly awaited to see what crazy tale Kelly would tell us next. And with news that the cast included names such as Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Wallace Shawn, John Larroquette, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Lambert, Cheri Oteri, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake, anticipation was at a fever pitch.
But then came the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Yes, the now infamous 160 minute “Cannes Cut”. And that’s when it all came crashing down. Multiple walkouts. Remaining audience members booed as soon the film ended. Simply put, the reaction was nothing short of a disaster. Universal Studios was originally set to release the film, but after the Cannes screening, they sold it off to Sony, who then quietly released it in a shorter 145-minute version in late 2007, where the film died a quick, but painful death, then seemingly disappeared into relative obscurity.
I didn’t catch the film until it hit DVD, and to be honest, I loved it. I honestly didn’t see what the big deal was, and why so many hated it. I found it to be a funny, complex, unique vision of a possible future. Maybe that’s what rubbed people the wrong way back then. “This is the road you think we’re headed down? Pffft, no way!” But more on that later…
Now, the boutique label Arrow Video has released the film in a limited-edition Blu-Ray set featuring both the theatrical cut and the newly restored Cannes Cut. So, does the theatrical cut hold up, and how does the Cannes Cut play? Let’s find out, shall we?
During a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.
Remember when I said how people must have scoffed at Kelly’s idea of the future? Well, newsflash: we just lived it. Southland Tales should be renamed 2020: The Motion Picture in the way it encapsulates the insanity that was that year almost exactly. Don’t believe me? Here are all the things that are contained within the film: Anti-fascist group having violent altercations with police, racist police, racially motivated murders caught on camera, actors with deep affiliations to political parties, the government wanting to monitor the internet and society’s usage of it, earthquakes, wildfires, viruses, a porn star having a reality show, the attempted rigging of an election, etc…
Yep. That’s all in there. I got to say, it’s simply amazing how Richard Kelly was able to make the most relevant film of last year all the way back in 2005. What did he know that others didn’t? Does he have a time machine? Maybe that’s why his movies always somewhat center around Time Travel. Or… he was just smart enough to see the crap coming around the corner. I’ll go with that one.
Well, whatever it was, it led to a film that more people should reevaluate. And thanks to Arrow Video, they can do just that. As mentioned before, Arrow has released both cuts of the film in pristine HD clarity. I was most excited for the Cannes Cut, since I had never watched that version before. And now? I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the theatrical cut.
The Cannes Cut plays soooo much better. Going back and forth between the two, you can see the compromise Kelly had to make to shorten it. In comparison, the theatrical cut feels rushed, while the Cannes Cut has a lot more room to breathe. It’s glorious. The transfer looks great as well. Tales was always a good looking movie, but now it looks better than ever. They really cleaned it up.
The 3-part documentary, It’s a Madcap World: The Making of an Unfinished Film, also included in the set, is a very insightful and at times sad retrospective that details the making of the film, as well as the reception, and the aftermath. Richard Kelly, as well as key members of the production take part in it, and it is definitely worth watching for fans of the movie.
You know something? During this watch, I was reminded of another, more recent movie. Tenet. The most divisive Christopher Nolan movie ever made. I mean, they have some similarities; time travel, doppelgangers, and an end of the world scenario, so you can see why it came to mind. But I was also reminded of it due to the stark differences in the characters. While I thought Tenet was a very well-made movie, it seems like the characters came second to its convoluted plot, which is the total opposite of Southland Tales.
To put it mildly: Tenet is about complicated things happening, while Southland Tales is about complicated people happening. And that’s why I love it so much. Humanity, with all its complexities, put through the wildest of circumstances and left to figure it all out is precisely the point of not just the movie, but life itself. And that’s what Kelly captures so perfectly. It’s a Madcap world, indeed.
To find out where this film is available to stream, click here: Just Watch