El Topo (1970)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Very strange, still manages to be one of the most beautiful films that I have ever seen. Cinematography is unmatched. Composition makes me want to cry tears of joy. I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Story seems a bit incomprehensible at times but the epicness makes up for the holes in the story (at the end of the day the story doesn't matter that much). I watched Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain on the come down of an acid trip and I enjoyed that very much and I imagine that this movie would also pair wonderfully with said substances.

I wasn't immediately convinced with this film, El Topo. The initial scenarios seemed too strange in an ugly sort of way... to put it simply. However it gradually became clear that this was the intended style of the beginning of the film and I decided to see the film for what it is, instead of what it wasn't. Then it continued to change. I was engaged by the Western element of the film. Jodorowsky himself played quite a stylish lead actor, and while the film was weird, it began to get weirder... in a good way. It had a unique taste. This wasn't your average Spaghetti Western wannabe. This was a truly unique film. Some of the images and montages that transpired were awe-inspiring and it started to become clearer that this was a real art work and not just an ordinary film. As the film went on it reached a metaphysical level, really mythical too. As with films like Embrace of the Serpent from South America, you feel that Jodorowsky is both critical of the bizarre Christian symbolism he mixes with the native peoples of those parts. He creates a unique fusion that I must admit, I don't know very much of how this all fits into the history and culture in Chile or South America... nevertheless I found El Topo to be quite a fascinating piece!

Those are a few of the things you will see in this movie. This film is hard to wrap your head around at times. There are scenes where characters change roles and appearance between shots, that change rather quickly. This isn't the reason the film is hard to wrap your head around. A lot of it has to do with the religious imagery. The film is filled with it as well as several bible verses. It seems as though different points are being made at different points in the movie, and that those points point to other matters which don't exist in the film. Starting to get the point? The film takes a more typical western feel near the beginning with the black gunman (EL Topo). This segment of the movie is action film and has a lot of the hooks of Western Genre Films (as well as 70's art house hooks). Later on the film takes a very different turn and feels a lot less like a western. Our main character acts and looks completely differently and his motivations are almost opposite in every way. We only feel the story cutting back together as El Topo reunites with a character earlier in the movie.The film has a superb visual flair and is littered with many types of religious imagery and symbolism. Whether it all makes sense to you or only some of it does, the film is well worth the journey.

i refuse to appreciate a film just because it is different n surreal or due to the wider opinion of the movie bourgeois that only they can enjoy it and thus are elite or of a more intelligent constitution and those who cant are vermin. there are many movies in this genre n of course the attributes on which a movie is merited are debatable but the foremost dharma of a movie is enjoyment of the viewer. i feel this does not achieve that. it comes across as a misguided eastern fixation and its erroneous interpretation, not unknown in the western civilization unfortunately, together with the horrible amalgamation of it with a western, ritualistic scenes and unnecessary violence which has culminated in this work.