Sunday, May 10, 2009


So I just finished watching El Topo and I have to say I am disturbed, shocked, affected and not quite sure what to think beyond the fact that I'm sure this film will stay with me for a few days. There are definitely things about it that I loved, but there were some totally unnecessary ridiculous scenes in that movie that I could have done without. Its up there with Audition, Irreversible, The Chaser, Weekend, fucked up man fucked up. I think the only reason why it didn't shock me as bad is because it is so dated and the blood doesn't look real. I found it to be very similar to Godard in terms of the "anti" narrative structure. Alot of the scenes were meant to be more symbolic than anything and the story itself takes a strange turn about halfway through the film and I had two completely different feelings for the first and second halves. The first half of the film follows the gunfighting cowboy as he meets a woman who convinces him to fight the four best gunmen and his journey to find them. The second half of the film follows his journey to save a community of deformed cave dwellers. But I have to say I am glad that I watched it. I'm not sure if I would recommend it, I guess that just depends on the person, but it was a hell of an experience.
El Topo is a mind bending, surreal journey through the desert. The film opens with a wandering "cowboy" (if thats even what I should call him) and his sidekick (a naked boy) burying the boy's old toy and a picture of his mother as the cowboy tells him "You're a man now". As they ride off into the horizon, the camera sits motionless with the half buried picture in the sand. The cowboy then has a series of encounters with various evil villians, acts of mindless violence, rape and sadism. The film follows the basic structure of a western but it is the encounters that set this film apart. The style in which Jodorowsky depicts the violence is at times difficult to watch, from the disembowled horses to the killing of crows and rabbits, the slaughter of innocent people and the sado-masochistic pain that many of his characters go through.
There were times that I really thought many of the acts of violence were completely unnecessary but other times when I really liked the way a particularly violent scene was shot, so I really think the level of shock or appreciation of the film depends on the viewer. At one point, the gunfighting cowboy runs into a man with no legs on the shoulders of a man with no arms. The two use each others limbs to help each other survive. All in all it was extremely well shot, the desert, the caves, and the old town all give the film a strong feeling of isolation and loneliness in the barren landscape. Through violence, religious symbolism, rape, and satire Jodorowsky creates a world that blends the western genre with the styles of directors like Godard, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, and of course Sergio Leone. I've heard him compared to Bunuel who I have not seen enough of yet, but plan to.

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