Review of El Topo (1970) by Adam T — 11 May 2017
El Topo has been described as an 'acid western', so veiwed in that context, I could suspend my disbelief somewhat with its countless surrealist gunfights and gratuitous violence. There are also undertones of Lesbian fetishism, Freudian symbolism and an overall carnival-like atmosphere that even Fellini would be proud of.
Where does it fail, however? Well, given the aforementioned, I still could not grasp its story in any way, shape or form. That is not to say that it has no form. The titular character is certainly on some kind of journey, spiritual or perhaps just personal, I was never quite sure.
It is great to look at, despite the imagery being often hard to stomache and perhaps it is a movie that demands repeat veiwings to fully comprehend its message and significance. For now and for film-making alone, I will settle with 3 stars but watch this space!
This review of El Topo (1970) was written by Adam T on 11 May 2017.
El Topo has generally received positive reviews.
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