06-28-2016, 05:05 PM
I'd been waiting patiently for this to become available on Netflix DVD. Finally it did.
A disappointment, but still very much worth watching. The movie is a fictional account of Alejandro's dad, Jaime, who worshipped and emulated Stalin in all his sadistic nastiness. Intriguingly, Alejandro's dad is played by Alejandro's own son Brontis (now grown up), who you might remember from El Topo as the naked son of the gunfighter (played by Alejandro himself). This is a therapeutic vehicle for Alejandro, allowing him to come to terms with his tyrannical dad. To accomplish this, he must eventually bend narrative away from reality, because his dad never changed in real life.
Lady Cranefly bailed on it after 25 minutes, and I couldn't blame her. The father is so nasty and unlikable, and he's in almost every early scene. But I stuck it out, and really, there's lots of eye candy here of every kind, and your eyes deserve to be scarred by several scenes in this movie, with several more worth experiencing. Even now I ululate, delighting in those retinal burns.
All in all, not the Jodorowsky of El Topo or Holy Mountain days, but he's still capable of some strong visions. He just seemed too message-oriented in this one for it to be an entirely enjoyable surrealist ride.
Still, there's lots of very positive reviews out there, with many calling this very funny. But for some reason the humor eluded me.
A disappointment, but still very much worth watching. The movie is a fictional account of Alejandro's dad, Jaime, who worshipped and emulated Stalin in all his sadistic nastiness. Intriguingly, Alejandro's dad is played by Alejandro's own son Brontis (now grown up), who you might remember from El Topo as the naked son of the gunfighter (played by Alejandro himself). This is a therapeutic vehicle for Alejandro, allowing him to come to terms with his tyrannical dad. To accomplish this, he must eventually bend narrative away from reality, because his dad never changed in real life.
Lady Cranefly bailed on it after 25 minutes, and I couldn't blame her. The father is so nasty and unlikable, and he's in almost every early scene. But I stuck it out, and really, there's lots of eye candy here of every kind, and your eyes deserve to be scarred by several scenes in this movie, with several more worth experiencing. Even now I ululate, delighting in those retinal burns.
All in all, not the Jodorowsky of El Topo or Holy Mountain days, but he's still capable of some strong visions. He just seemed too message-oriented in this one for it to be an entirely enjoyable surrealist ride.
Still, there's lots of very positive reviews out there, with many calling this very funny. But for some reason the humor eluded me.
I'm nobody's pony.
