Set in a dystopia n future Writer/Director Richard Kelly (best known for Donnie Darko)  has crafted a lush and detailed piece of speculative fiction. 

 Southland Tales is a dense mix of social commentary and science fiction in this fable of patriotism gone mad; After a terrorist attack the US government enforces state borders requiring visas to travel interstate. This leads to building tension as Usident is formed to police the Internet. Amidst the growing decent spring the neo Marxists. 

Central this chaos is Boxer Santa nus , an action movie star who after returning from a mysterious disappearance find the world isn't as it should be. 

Kelly uses the rich textures of his cult classic Donnie Darko to add a surreal quality to what is both a dense political story and heavily science orientated film. 

The film's major flaw however is its denseness, the prologue of this film was a trio logy of graphic novels and this back story is forced into a drawn out opening sequence. The back story on its own is complex,  

This film may take extra attention (or viewing) to get through but Southland Tales is well worth the effort.