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.