Review of Southland Tales (2007) by Wailun L — 31 Jan 2013

Strange sci-fi movie, it is set in the present time but it is a futuristic present with technology and medical advances that are not invented yet. This film is also a thriller where an action star, Boxer Santaros has some sort of breakdown and cannot remember his past, slowly he starts to put the pieces of his life back together with the help of an adult film star, Krysta Now, and a police officer, Roland Taverner. The movie takes us for a ride through this alternate LA in the brink of social uprising and environmental catastrophe where freedom is compromised by a heavily policed government. We embark on a journey where we get to see the alleyways of suburbia, the mansions of the political elite and the apartments of the controversial revolutionaries.

I liked the iconography of this "futuristic present", it is interesting and visually attractive however the story if way too confusing, with too many twists and turns, the typical film you have to watch two or three times to fully understand what's going on. If you manage to follow the story well is worth watching for the unusual end. There are moments of really brilliant storytelling lost in an overcomplicated plot. In all honesty it is an original mess.