Review of Southland Tales (2007) by Heath C — 09 Jul 2012

The first time I saw this I thought it was ok, but a little too crazy and just not as good as Donnie Darko. I was totally wrong about this movie. After listening to an old SModCo podcast called SMoviemakers, with Kevin Smith interviewing Richard Kelly, I learned for the first time about the graphic novels intended to accompany this film. I sought them out, read them, and then re-watched Southland Tales.

This is one of those instances where a true masterpiece slips by under everybody's nose and is 'poo poo'd' by the critics. Like BladeRunner, it'll be a few years for anybody to cotton on to probably one of the most significant and powerful epics in history. The market is at fault here, not the movie. I had no idea about the graphic novels, if I had known of them and read them or there was perhaps an animated version of the first three chapters released prior to the fllm was theatrically... I don't know - the point is that there is far more to meets the eye in this firm. It is a true masterpiece and deserves praise and accolades and cult status. Richard Kelly's story telling is unparralelled. Maybe in ten years people will get it.