I figured I would start his blog with a bang and go with the grand daddy of all midnight movies, El Topo. This is the film which started midnight movies in the early seventies. El Topo can be seen as a violent and cruel film or as a beautiful and subversive experience. Either way you look at it, it is definitely a unique film and is not to be missed.
As with any Jodorowsky film, you have to go into it knowing that many things will not make sense and you will probably be lost throughout the film. Watching the film all the way through might not make things any clearer but with this film there is a linear story line that is easy to follow if you don't dwell on details.
Plot:
The film begins with the titular El Topo riding through the desert with his son. His son has just turned 7 and he must bury his first toy and picture of his mother. I should include that his son is nude throughout the beginning which may seem odd if you have not seen a Jodorowsky film before. Shortly thereafter, he abandons the boy at a monastery. This opening scene sets the tone for the whole film as El Topo begins a personal journey to discover what it is to be a man and a human. He thinks himself as God before he truly knows what being God means. After obtaining great power through violence he is reborn to follow a path of redemption by turning savior to a band of freaks living in a deep cave.
Content:
The film is usually categorized as a Spaghetti Western, the violence in it is reminiscent of some of the Eastwood classics only dialed up to 10 but the humor reminds me more of classic Mexican slapstick. Seeing how the film was made in Mexico by a Chilean director, Spaghetti Western is a little misplaced. El Topo is a violent film with many disturbing images and also contains nudity and sex as well as drug use. Best death scene: El Topo killing the first Master and his minions.
