El Topo is a 1970 Acid Western directed by Alejandro Jodorowski.
Here’s my five-word review of El Topo:
What the fuck was that?
Thanks for reading.
In full disclosure, I chose to watch this bizarre Acid Western without subtitles – making an incredibly complex movie even more difficult to comprehend.
I’m pretty sure I could have closed my eyes and imagined the whole thing and came away with more insight.
Anyway, El Topo tells the story of a mysterious gunfighter who crosses the desert on a journey that is equal parts mystical, religious and sexual. El Topo, or “The Mole”, faces and conquers four desert masters before being left for dead by his lesbian companions. He is reborn in an underground colony of dwarves and cripples and swears off violence. He becomes a beggar before freeing the cripples and exacting vengeance on their killers.
Beyond the language barrier, the challenge of El Topo is unraveling Jodorowski’s heavy layers of disjointed symbolism. Within the movie’s first 20 minutes, El Topo’s naked son buries his teddy bear and mother’s mirror in the sand, then a variety of crazed bandits fetishize women’s shoes and simulate sex with lizards and captured monks.
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