Review of El Topo (1970) by Eduardo R — 19 Oct 2009
From mysterious cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky. comes this western like no other, it's got shades of the violent western Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah do, but it's also very surreal, in a Luis Bunuel and Kenneth Anger kind of surreal, it makes for a very odd curiousity, it is visually stunning, but to try and make a head or a tail of any of it is near impossible.
It was championed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, so they saw something in it. The film follows gunslinger El Topo (Alejandro Jodorowsky) and his young son (Brontis Jodorowsky), as they travel around encountering bandits, massacred villages and a colony of deformed people.
In fact, the film's original tagline should sum it up, "See the naked young Franciscans whipped with cactus. See the bandit leader disemboweled. See the priest ride into the sunset with a midget and her newborn baby.
What it all means isn't exactly clear, but you won't forget it". How very true indeed, it has no plot so to speak, but it is certainly one of a kind. It does test the patience of it's viewer, and once you see it, you may never want to see it again, but one thing is certain, you will never forget it.
This review of El Topo (1970) was written by Eduardo R on 19 Oct 2009.
El Topo has generally received positive reviews.
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