TITLE: The Holy Mountain
DATE: 1973
GENRE: Foreign
RUNNING TIME: 113 Minutes
RATING: R
FORMAT: BlueRay Disc
SCRIPT: Alejandro Jodorowsky
DIRECTOR: Alejandro Jodorowsky
STARRING:Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horatio Salinas, Zamira Saunders

 

     With all the news lately about the volcano in Chile I was reminded of the most unusual Chilean born directors that has ever graced the silver screen, dvd, or Blue-ray for that matter. I am talking about Alejandro Jodorowsky. As the the volcanic ashes and lightning make for some otherworldly photos in recent articles, Jodorowsy very similarly mastered some insanely impressive images, perhaps unparalleled to anything- really.

     For anyone that enjoys a dive into some heavy surrealism it separates them in from the boys, so to speak.  So you may ask yourself can surrealism be marketed " -well I like it.  And I think without it film wouldn't grow as an art form. I feel we need to go through another renaissance like the 1970s, however it's hard to do with corporate rule and many independents that are so quick to emulate each other. Sometimes when you make an independent film you have to have a certain sense of security that you can sell a final product to return the life savings of all the friends that put cash and your project, and reputations on the line. But as the old saying goes " making films is all about risk ".

 

       The holy mountain is quite unlike anything I've ever seen, and I can honestly say that I have seen quite a bit of avant garde but Alejandro Jodorowsky in this movie establishes himself as the king of Kings in my book. The story follows that of a peasant man in a small village and his amputee sidekick.  The somewhat mute or speech impaired characters seem to be on a quest to find truth amidst a labyrinth of religious imagery that without artistic objectivity or flexible minds may find offensive. It is my understanding this film caused riots in Mexico.

      The main hero climbs a tower that propels him into a different dimension much like what happened to Sean Connery in Zardoz.  The film uses various devices and settings to illustrate the rulers of the planets doing their day to day tasks and their sometimes overly surreal modus operandi. If you are the type of person that snickers at nudity and weirdness like an adolescent in art museum, you will probably miss the point of most of the imagery.  Don't expect to get much out of it.  You're the type of person that goes to the museum to see "what you see is what you get scenics" this might not be your cup of tea. 

      If you want to see the moving image version of Salvador Dali and Warhol sensibility sewn together with ridiculousness of high fashion and post-modernism that makes Lady Gaga seem tame by comparison, this film might be just what you're looking for.  At the very least it can provide you with a good conversation piece to add to your movie collection.  A very unique conversation piece indeed.  The themes are strong. Too strong for some, but not in the gutter sense - more of the cerebral Art sense.  It deals with sexuality, the freakish nature of human beings, absurdity, and awkward poetry of the human tragedy.
     

    As I mentioned before there are some similarities to Boorman's Zardoz, although not that many - but The Holy Mountain in no doubt did inspire countless movies and artists that were to follow. The violence that appears on screen can only be explained as a vegetarian organic colorful playful violence which may seem odd to those that know a little of Chile's politically stressful history ( hint: Allende's overthrow Sept. 11, 1973).

    Shock to your senses?  Because you begin to question your own morals and social Mauritius but sometimes that's what an art film is made for, that's its job.  I don't think mankind can ever advance if we just keep remaking and orbiting every franchise that's ever been.  It's time to evolve again.  And after watching this film I believe that film needs a renaissance or reformation like what happened in the 1970's.  We take for granted filmmaking conventions that wouldn't exist today if our predecessors hadn't made some art for art's sake once in awhile.

 

Thanks for checking back this month,

 

TJPARSONS