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Filmmaker's California: Deserts to Tunnels Explored
2 Dec
Summary
- Production designer scouted diverse real-world California locations.
- Film features a built-from-scratch immigration detention camp.
- An escape tunnel based on cartel designs was constructed.
Production designer Florencia Martin captured the authentic essence of California for Paul Thomas Anderson's latest epic, "One Battle After Another." Her extensive scouting led the team through diverse terrains, including Sacramento, the Redwoods, and desert landscapes, seeking to bring the state's realities to life.
The film's visual storytelling is anchored by meticulously crafted sets like an immigration detention camp, built on an active border patrol road, and a 60-foot tunnel designed to mimic cartel escape routes. These elements blur the lines between reality and fiction, immersing the audience in the narrative's gritty authenticity.
Martin's approach involved deep exploration, even drawing inspiration from a widowed woman's car-covered property for a character's home. The desert climax, a car chase filmed across multiple locations including Anza-Borrego, showcases the director's commitment to finding the perfect, often surprising, settings.
