Review of El Topo (1970) by Donovan D — 11 Feb 2008

Combine narrative surrealism ala L'Age D'or and a Leone western with exploitation cinema and Buddhist/Christian mysticism, and you'll come close to the kind of film that is El Topo, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Jodorowsky stars as El Topo, a gunfighter of supernatural power. He is so cool as a gunslinger in the first half of this brutally violent movie that he puts Shaft to shame. The film turns on a harmonious combination of the crucifixion and Buddhist reincarnation, and the second half finds El Topo as a pseudo-Buddhist monk as he tries to seek enlightenment by helping a cavern filled with deformed people become integrated with society (represented here by the most villainous western town ever), before coming to a conclusion that could be described as explosive and cynical.

This is a bizarre and at times chauvinistic head trip of a movie that teeters towards pretentiousness, but for fans of cult cinema and surrealism this will be a pleasure.