Lana Del Rey has only nudged her way into my heart recently when over the summer I finally gave her a chance and sat down to listen to her albums. I had written her off after her debacle of a performance on Saturday Night Live. What I heard astounded my ears and I have never looked back since. Lana's music is an incredible hybrid of many different styles as well as themes that we can all relate to. Her songwriting skills are other worldly and she makes me feel emotions that very few other musicians have ever done. Taking her small but powerful body of work, Lana set out to create this short film comprising of three songs from her Born to Die - The Paradise Edition that makes social commentary on American culture and incorporates biblical scripture. The piece is written entirely by Lana and features model Shaun Ross as her co-star. Let Tropico commence.
The video starts of with Lana and Shaun in the Garden of Eden as they portray Adam and Eve. They are accompanied by John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Jesus. And yes, I'm being totally serious. These figures are mentioned in her song 'Body Electric' which is the soundtrack to the first portion of the film. The video is stunningly beautiful and is my favorite portion of the film. It obviously chronicles the fall of Man as Lana takes a bite from the apple and they are immediately banished from Eden.
In the second portion, Lana channels her inner 'Gimme More'-era Britney Spears as she is a stripper in a club and Shaun is a store clerk. In the raciest and most graphic portion, Lana battles with her 'Gods & Monsters' as she is tied up with the wrong people. It culminates in Shaun's gang robbing a group of business men who happen to be in the process of being entertained by Lana's fellow strippers. They hit a low point in their lives thus causing the segue into the next portion of the film.
In the final segment of Tropico, Lana and Shaun travel into a field at sunset. Here they strip and go into the river, wearing white garments and baptizing themselves. They have decided to renounce themselves of sin as Lana's 'Bel Air' accompanies their transition. Ending the piece, the two lovers embrace and begin floating up into the air. In a strange but oddly poetic ending, UFOs appear in the distance as John Wayne's 'Always on My Mind' closes the video.
I find the video to be a stroke of genius and it's a masterpiece. Lana has done something that very few artists dare to do during their careers. This short-film is a piece of art that is going to go down in the history books. At the premiere of the film last night, Lana announced that she will be releasing a new album called Ultra-Violence. Continuing with the incredibly intelligent and reflective subject matter of her work, this title comes from the classic novel A Clockwork Orange. Even though it's probably a ways away, I honestly cannot wait to have a new Lana album in my library.