Surprise!
So lately I've been filling up my queue with really obscure/awesome foreign films, all which have been recommended by my gainesville peers. I came across a director who isn't really well known to the general mass public-- goes by the name of Alejandro Jodorowsky.
He made a couple of films in the 70's that were considered way too controversial for audiences-- so they became kind of a staple at midnight screenings... namely his masterpiece (i'm not using that lightly, it really is that good) The Holy Mountain.
I've heard so much hype over The Holy Mountain, of it being one of the best films he or she has ever seen. So as to not hype myself out early, I watched one of his earlier films, El Topo.
The film is this kind of surealist spaghetti western that shows the wonders of religion and mysticism through a series of obscure and sacrilegious symbols. It's really good and really strange, but somewhat flawed in its conventional structure-- I mean with a movie that contains a massive amount of dwarves and bunnies, you might as well go balls out in obscurity.
I then felt as if I can take some weird ass shit. Here's the trailer for The Holy Mountain.
Holy Mountain? Holy shit! The trailer is fucking awesome. I know not many of you will agree, but I found it to be everything I wanted in a trailer-- tons of weird, cool looking scenes that will hopefully be put into context when finally watching the film.
Does the film put those scenes in context?
No.
The whole film is meant to be an array of scenes that contain massive amounts of sacreligious symbols the likes that rival El Topo. Every scene contains props and actor representing a symbol or some kind of religious and/or mystic idea. So nothing is really cohesive to the narrative... but it all falls into place concerning the various themes of the film.
I think the trailer perfectly sums up the film in its pretentiousness.
In essence, the film is about this thief, who looks a lot like Jesus. He consequently lives in this alternate reality (I'm not trying to make this sound sci-fi, because it's not) where there's just mass confusion. I don't even know how to explain the setting because it's all so outlandish and unordinary. As he roams the streets, he finds this tower in the middle of a highway... a rope with a hook on it comes down from an opening at the top of the tower-- he goes up on it and goes inside. In there, he meets The Alchemist.
The Alchemist seeks to help the thief by cleansing him of his immorality and presenting him with a quest. Along with seven other people, who represent planets in the solar system, they all seek to find and climb the holy mountain, which at the top holds the secret to immortality.
The film is all allegory and no story. The film starts out as this completely stylized epic-- filled with amazing sets and beautifully constructed scenes. But as the film progresses, the camera becomes more in tune with reality when the scenes become less stylized and more grounded in location.
The end is where the pay-off is at, in where the 4th wall is crossed and the film takes on a completely different meaning.
And what is that meaning? Watch the film.
It's one of the best films I've seen since my viewing of Le Samourai, and could just be one of my favorite films of all time.
Please watch this movie. I usually write reviews for bad films... but this time I'm writing a positive review-- meaning that I provoke the viewing of this film, whole-heartedly.
3 comments:
Hmm, it appears one of your entries disappeared.
Anyway, You are now responsible for the best review of Holy Mountain I've ever read (or maybe best review ever), encapsulated in two sentences: "Holy Mountain? Holy shit!"
I wouldn't say The Holy Mountain is straight-up allegory with no story. Allegories use the pretense of one kind of story to talk about something else. The Holy Mountain, with its overt use of Tarot and stuff, talks about exactly what it wants to talk about without veiling it behind something else.
Also, and not to deflect all your points, I'd say it's pretty science fiction-y. It feels to me like a Grant Morrison comic (heh, especially with the aesthetics: bright colors and meta-use of comic books) if Morrison were into tarot and not chaos magic. Let's not forget that Jodorowsky is more famous in Europe as a comic book writer than a filmmaker.
I love the structure of El Topo, myself. It spends an hour being some weird curiousity of the western genre, and then it suddenly becomes something else in the second half.
El Topo's probably the more famous of the two films, yet Holy Mountain is much crazier. I guess it's because El Topo can at least fit into a genre.
Nice look at the film. I really need to give El Topo a rewatch, but like you say, it's one of my very favorites. Be sure to also check out Fando y Lis. It's very different from the others but quite exciting in a different way.
And after seeing The Silver Globe, The Holy Mountain seems like Indiana Jones in terms of how complex the plot is. I do think that it's the best example of THIS kind of narrative, which, believe it or not, has been relatively ubiquitous since the 50's. I guess Jodorowski really thought that the film would change the world (he's gone on record saying so), and I can't help but applaud him for his effort.
Standout scenes for me include a horrifying parade of skinned rabbits and our hero eating his Jesus-ed replication's face, internalizing the ultimate spirit or manifestation of humanitarian concept. The "My Name is Todd. My Planet is Jupiter" segments rock very hard as well.
Keep up the good work, sir.
Nicely done, my friend, nicely done. Very thoughtful and well researched.
Also, appreciate the shout out to my favorite thing ever.
See ya at the Show Tape on Book Lights tomorrow.
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