Review of El Topo (1970) by Oswald H — 22 Jan 2014
Its easy to see why John Lennon and George Harrison were such fans of this film its totally off the scale and out there story wise,but it must be said in a good way.
Director Alejandro Jodorowsky plays El Topo (it means the mole in English) who starts out on a quest to avenge the death of his wife.
So far so normal but this really is Luis Bunel meets Sergio Leone as El Topo faces off against various gunfighters in even more bizarre situations.
After gaining his revenge El Topo is betrayed by his woman and left for dead .
The film then does another odd turn as El Topo returns from hibernation to become a monk like enetertainer in a corrupt and violent town which leads to a tragic final act.
The film really is a Lynchian stream of images with plenty of violence along the way but also plenty of beauty .
There really is nothing like it out there in film land and despite the shocks Jodorowsky has an artist and poets eye for telling a great story.
Of course being under the influence of something may help you understand the movie ,but you dont have to be stoned to gain a great piece of film art.
This review of El Topo (1970) was written by Oswald H on 22 Jan 2014.
El Topo has generally received positive reviews.
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