Confession time: Although I’ve made numerous references to the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky in the past, in particular the documentary of his ultimately doomed attempt at Dune, I’ve never actually seen a film of his. I’ve sampled some of his graphic novels, the Metabarons and the Incal (which are quite impressive), but it was his work in the medium of film that established his career, and it’s the work that he’s probably most famous for in pop culture. So this year, in the Marathon tradition of trying new things (and proper name drop etiquette), I decided to take the plunge and try one out. Is it Halloween appropriate? Are any of the films I feature on this list Halloween appropriate? Hard to say.
So what is El Topo about? Well, the implication appears to be that it’s about a lot of things, but at it’s most basic it’s about the journey of the titular Topo (played by Jodorowsky), a wandering gunslinger in a very metaphorical version of the Old West. El Topo (spanish for The Mole) is a brutal and morally destitute type of killer, whose skill with the pistol has left him acting as if he were some angry god. As good as El Topo is, there are supposedly 4 masters of shooting that exist in this harsh desert land, and so he sets off to murder them and prove something to somebody (his estranged father, perhaps). What Topo doesn’t realize however, isn’t that this isn’t the mission of death that he’s planning it to be. It’s his chance at redemption.
Aside from that, you’ve got a little socio-political commentary on man’s inhumanity to man (African-Americans literally being hunted down and branded like cattle), the military and their abuse of power (the colonel character literally has people act like dogs), the church’s ability to cloud men’s minds (the local priest has his followers playing Russian roulette with god), and for some reason melding an otherwise Christian-centric setting with Buddhist themes (the 4 masters behave and even look more like gurus than they do gunslingers, and Topo ends up having a very Siddartha-esque meditative experience). Oh, and sex, lots and lots of sex and things relating to sex. Topo finding actual eggs under his lady friends legs, water shooting out a very phallic rock, outlaws making out with priests, a girl licking a prickly pear like she was auditioning for pornhub, and so on in that fashion. And people thought Brokeback Mountain was a controversial cowboy movie.
Unfortunately, assuming that there is a meaning beyond these strange and mysterious images beyond confusing and mystifying those who watch it, then it’s a movie that demands multiple viewings in order to fully process itself. This list is about first impressions than it is advanced film study however, and to a first time viewer, Jodorowsky’s aim fails to show itself. Is he using the Western (a traditionally violent genre of film) to comment on the violent times that the world found itself in during the major years of the Vietnam War? Is he saying Christianity has become more an excuse for violence for its followers than a religion of peace, and that it holds no sway over the populace anymore? Is the gun just supposed to be penis? It’s unclear, and unless you take the time to sit down and dig through it all, all that’s left to do is to sit there and watch random things happen at seemingly random times and just hope that they get to another gunfight at some point. Which they do away with by the second half either way.
For those with experience with surrealism and experimental films, this is probably going to be right up your alley. For those that aren’t into those kinds of movies, you’re probably going to find this more or less intolerable. Honestly, even though I have a general preference for weird movies, it still feels like Jodorowsky was taking a 2 hour detour to get to the actual point, and it doesn’t feel like much of a payoff either way. So I suppose I give the recommendation to anyone who likes weird movies that’s willing to put more time in than me, but if the extent of your experimental film experience is watching Twin Peaks and American Horror Story on netflix, this might be a little too obtuse for your tastes. Still, Halloween is about making people scared and uncomfortable, and any movie where the director films his prepubescent son walking around completely naked for about the first 15 minutes is bound to make anyone you show it to very, very uncomfortable. In the United States, at least. We throw a fit over a 2 second accidental flash of woman’s nipple during a concert, we try to ban breastfeeding at the very thought of a female breast touching public air. Showing a naked white boy in a movie, even in a case like this where it’s not really sexualized in any way and no real focus is placed upon it, would be like 3 or 4 Chernobyl’s at once. People would go fucking insane, way more than when Trump implied we should label Muslims like Germany labeled Jews in the late 30s or when that class of elementary school kids were shot to death.
Good way to clear a room though.
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