The Holy Mountain (1973)

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The Holy Mountain (1973) – A. Jodorowsky

It is hard to say whether Jodorowsky is a visionary or a crackpot but it doesn’t really matter because he is the living embodiment of the artistic impulse, the desire to channel one’s self and ideas as fully as possible through art (whether it be film, comic books, theatre, novels, or mime as the case could be with this man).  Certainly, in his earlier period as a director, he pulled out all the stops, using gratuitous (or sometimes necessary) nudity and violence alongside spiritual themes and grander abstract symbols, so many symbols, to create “midnight movies” such as El Topo (1970).  In The Holy Mountain, sometimes it seems that he is throwing just about everything at the screen to see what sticks and other times it seems as though there is some meaning lurking in the varied and bizarre images that appear on screen.  (This impression was heightened because I turned on the subtitles only to find that they were Jodorowsky’s director’s commentary appearing along with the original soundtrack in English; Jodorowsky has grown into a wise, gentle, and humorous man who seems to have negotiated life to attain some real spiritual peace and perspective – he offers some interesting clarifications!).  The plot here seems to break into three sections.  First, we meet a thief who looks enough like Jesus that some priests make a plaster mould of him to create some Jesus effigies for sale (no doubt a comment on religion and materialism and the motives of various churches).  The thief meets various Mexican people (prostitutes as well as priests) and witnesses a toad and chameleon stage show representing the Conquistadors attack on the Aztecs (warning: these reptiles do not survive this movie).  After the thief scales a tower and enters a magical land, we begin the second part.  The thief meets an alchemist (played by Jodorowsky himself) who turns shit into gold and bathes the thief in a room that includes a stunning camel and a frolicking hippo and naked women looking serious (or having their heads shaved).  The extremely fashionable alchemist invites the thief to join him on a quest to the Holy Mountain with 7 other people, introduced in turn, who represent the planets (with astrological meanings).  Some of their meeting takes place in a room with huge paintings of Jodorowsky’s own tarot deck, but later they are seated at a table shaped like an eye (when seen from above) with a fire pit in the center.  Once they have abandoned their material possessions, the third part, the trek to the mountain begins -- and the cinematography changes entirely, as Jodorowky and his team head out to really climb a mountain.  No more stylized sets and freaky set-pieces; now we are ready for spiritual ascension.  At the top, are the universe’s rulers, who are to be replaced by our new nine – or not!  The film ends with an abrupt joke!  We are thrown back to reality, presumably changed by the very strange trip that Jodorowsky has taken us on.  So, ultimately, your mileage may vary: there may be some real symbols and archetypal themes embedded in the film or it might all just be the hallucinatory ravings of an avowed surrealist (who, like Bunuel, takes potshots at society’s main institutions along the way).  At any rate, it is very often a wonder to behold and the soundtrack (with contributions from Don Cherry) is the perfect accompaniment.  For the open-minded and not for those easily offended or shocked.