Review of Santa Sangre (1989) by Lafe F — 26 Sep 2007

I really liked this movie. The story was more coherent than Jodorowsky's previous "El Topo", "Fando & Lis" and "The Holy Mountain" - and the imagery was less-revolting.

When I first saw the bare monkey-man in the tree of the mental hospital, I thought "Oh gosh, this is going to be another messed-up film like 'The Holy Mountain'!" But soon my fears were quashed, as Santa Sangre turned out to be a moving story with love, sadness, beauty, passion, horror and mental illness colorfully woven together. There was plenty of violence, but the set pieces and characters were very engaging. In "Santa Sangre", the beauty outweighed the filth.

The first half of the film details the trauma experienced by a young circus boy named "Fenix" when he witnesses the loss of his parents in an incident of heated passion. Fenix is confined to a mental hospital where he acts like a primitive ape.

Things change when his armless mother returns to free him. Fenix and his mother begin a strange theatre act, where he stands behind and supplies the arms for her performing talents.

Trouble emerges when Fenix shows attraction to other beautiful women; his jealous mother assumes control of his arms and slaughters them, with the ladies' bodies being buried in a ghoulish crypt. It's bizarre and surreal.

The horror and fantasy scenes have the feeling of a Dario Argento directed film. I liked the scene with the zombie women rising out of their graves, with the 80's synth music. All of the music really works for this film; it accompanies scenes of beauty and horror nicely.

The scenes of Fenix and his mother living together could've been trimmed down to improve the pacing.

The climax where Fenix's angelic childhood love girl navigates the twisted chambers of the manor to rescue him, was a moving experience. I felt cleansed at the end when Fenix came back to reality.