Southland Tales

"This is the way the world ends."

2007 2h 25m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 641

Science FictionThrillerComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Boxer Santaros is an action star who's stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

“This is the way the world ends.”

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Cast

Dwayne Johnson
Boxer Santaros / Jericho Cane
Seann William Scott
Roland Taverner / Ronald Taverner
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Krysta Kapowski / Krysta Now
Mandy Moore
Madeline Frost-Santaros
Justin Timberlake
Private Pilot Abilene
Miranda Richardson
Nana Mae Frost
Wallace Shawn
Baron Von Westphalen
Bai Ling
Serpentine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Kelly
Writers: Richard Kelly
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, United States of America, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Kelly, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Moby. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sam Bauer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott and Sarah Michelle Gellar carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This is the way the world ends.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Kelly directs. Steven Poster behind the camera. Moby scores. Sam Bauer cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United States of America, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 19 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, United States of America, France.
4Directed by Richard Kelly, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Moby. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Sam Bauer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott and Sarah Michelle Gellar carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This is the way the world ends.".
9IMDB entry: tt0405336 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "amnesia", "prophecy", "allegory", "time travel".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Poster
Original score: Moby
Editing: Sam Bauer
Production design: Alec Hammond
Costume design: April Ferry
Makeup / hair: Ermahn Ospina
VFX supervisor: Danny S. Kim
Sound: David Esparza
Stunt coordinator: Tanoai Reed
Runtime: 145 min · 2h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $374,743
Return: 2% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Southland Tales (2007)

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Richard Kelly

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-03-29
★ 3/10
Saw this one many years ago and really didn't care much for it. Watching it again, now the 'Cannes Cut', I absolutely... hated it. A bit of a shame since I love Donnie Darko (the director's cut especially) and where that one managed to blend social commentary with end-of-the world science fiction pretty well, this one did not. In fact, it was a real mess. However the biggest issue, beyond being downright boring at times, where I liked the characters in Donnie Darko, here I really couldn't care less. I would compare Richard Kelly to someone like M. Night Shyamalan, but least he had a couple solid films after The Sixth Sense to hang his hat on, Kelley's films following Donnie Darko (including his third film, The Box), were just nonsensical pretentious messes. 1.5/5

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