Southland Tales (imdb | official site | showtimes)
Southland Tales releases on select screens nationwide today. It was nominated for the Golden Palm Award at Cannes last year though apparently was roundly booed. Basically, it’s a movie set in a parallel reality where the world is falling apart and follows the chaotic lives of several characters in Los Angeles whose destinies have suddenly become intertwined.
Critical reaction to the movie originally was quite poor though some believed it could be visionary with appropriate editing. And, edited it has been! It’s apparently been extensively recut and, heck, I’m a sucker for apocalyptic movies so I’ll give it a try. If I remember correctly, Mary Antoinnette was also roundly booed at Cannes, so what do the French know? I hear this one comes straight from Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko roots and, as odd as it might seem, I enjoyed the manic and disjointed story telling and I’m pretty sure that it’d fit the whole apocalypse theme well. At least the trailer looks good, right?
November 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Even though most folks don’t have much good to say, I’m still pining to see it. It can’t be all that bad…can it?
November 15th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
It seems that reviews for the re-edited version haven’t been all bad. In fact, Manohla Dargis of the New York Times compared this movie’s cinematic achievement to that of “No Country for Old Men” though she also finishes her review with a tepid “Neither disaster nor masterpiece.”