El Topo

[Andrew]

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

I have now seen this film three times and I still do not understand more than half of it.  In fact, if I could manage to understand half of the movie, I would be quite happy.  Some parts are easy to understand.  The main character (El Topo) running through the streets of "America" and gunning down all of the citizens, then dousing himself with lamp oil and setting himself on fire, is Armageddon.  Figuring out what happens before that can be a little more difficult.

Take, for instance, El Topo's quest to defeat the four master gunfighters.  I think that this symbolizes the new religion's (Christianity) learning from the old ones and also triumphing over them, but not through a fair contest.  Still, seeing him visit with the one rabbit-loving gunfighter is a crazy series.  The man has a corral full of rabbits.  When El Topo comes, they all start dying.  After the gunfight is over and the master gunfighter dead, El Topo builds a cairn over the man using rabbit corpses.  Later, after El Topo fails to actually defeat the final master gunfighter (the master gunfighter defeats himself, winning and completely denying El Topo his victory through any means) the pile of dead rabbits bursts into flames.

Did I mention that El Topo hooks up with a woman and teaches her how to shoot rocks and make them turn into water fountains?  He also shows her how to dig turtle (I think that they are turtle) eggs out of her shadow, no matter where she digs.

My intent is to watch this a few more times, then have a try at writing the review.  "Greasers Palace" was not terribly hard for me to work with, probably because it was made by another American and is pretty obvious at times.  "El Topo" was made by Alejandro Jodorowsky, and I think that he must be a space alien.  I'll probably not read this thread again until after I write the review, just to avoid any influence on what I am going to write.

Very weird film, but I enjoyed it.

[DodgingGrunge]

Obviously I feel a rather strong connection with El Topo.  Strong enough to devote my entire forearm (all around) to imagery from the film.  Who wins for dork points?  That's right.  Me! 

Andrew, you're a brave man attempting to write a review of this film!  I attempted to do that for The Movie Vault about a decade ago but found the intense subjectivity too much for that format.  I ended up writing a lengthy synthesis instead.  I should still have it... somewhere.  When I find it I'll make a PDF and post a link to it for those that are interested.

[the ghoul]

I love this movie, but I prefer to think of it as a strange western and just take the story at face value.  (El Topo is a gunfighter who meets some deranged mass murderers, kicks their asses, and abandons his son thinking that it will make him grow up stronger. Then he shows his new girlfriend a few magic tricks and they have wild sex in the desert.  In a quest to become the top gunfighter, he seeks out the three masters of gunfighting, who each have supernatural abilities.  He wins but ends up badly wounded and is found by a group of disabled and deformed cave dwelling outcasts who take care of him.  It takes him many years to regain his faculties and memory.  He decides to help the outcasts take their rightful place in the world as equals among the nearby townsfolk, at first using peaceful means.  The townsfolk gun down the "freaks" and El Topo goes ballistic, reverting back to his days as a gunfighting avenger.  He wipes out the whole town then pours kerosene all over himself and sets himself on fire.  End of story.)  This works for me.  I find the bizarreness of this film to be highly entertaining, so why overanalyze?

[RCMerchant]

I read an interview with the director,in an old CASTLE of FRANKENSTIEN magazine(#18,1972) and Alexandro is a pretty trippy guy,to say the least.Check out this simple question...and the acid trip answer Jodorowsky gives...


CoF:Some people seeing EL TOPO are upset by all the blood in the picture.


AJ:Ah,the blood-there is so much blood in the picture.I refer to the Essenes.In their Gospel of Peace,they say that all blood comes from the Universal Mother,that stones are blood,flowers are blood,walls are blood,that everything is blood.So when I wound someone in the picture,I exaggerate the blood because I feel it is Truth being exposed...quite apart from the humor of it.
  I'll tell you what Goddard said when someone asked him, "Why do you show so much blood in WEEKEND?" He answered,"I don't use use blood;I use the color red.I like red."  There are so many people who don't like red.There's a social barrier against red.If all the violence shown in movies dosen't show blood, people will accept it.The first barreir against red is the red traffic lights.Then there's the communist terror . And the menstrual cycles. And hemmorriods...which eighty percent of the people in the U.S. suffer from...from bad eating habits,from eating hamburgers. To solve this problem I propose that the audiance see different colors of blood. Think of green blood,for example,and you forget that throughout each human being,throughout mankind,flows a river of blood. In my pirate movie,I won't have those problems:I'm going to put green blood in the wounds...blue blood...violet blood.And the wounds will spill out soap bubbles,red butterflies,pieces of shiney cloth,crystal balls,cow's toungues...or hamburgers. OK? Ah! Such pleasure! What a pleasure it is to sing...!

Well...hmmm. Seems like someone had a little to much fun in the "60's! 

 

[CheezeFlixz]

I've got this on DVD, bootleg of course. I find it an interesting film, strange and deranged. I haven't seen it in a long time, gonna have to watch it again. 

[The Burgomaster]

Coincidentally, I just posted my comments on this in the "good movie" forum.  I bought the Jodorowsky boxed set and watched this movie last night.  I agree that there is far too much symbolism to allow anyone to understand this movie in a single viewing (you may NEVER understand all of it . . . and maybe Jodorowsky wanted it that way).  But I really enjoyed it.

[CheezeFlixz]

Coincidentally, I just posted my comments on this in the "good movie" forum.  I bought the Jodorowsky boxed set and watched this movie last night.  I agree that there is far too much symbolism to allow anyone to understand this movie in a single viewing (you may NEVER understand all of it . . . and maybe Jodorowsky wanted it that way).  But I really enjoyed it.

Wow, I didn't know this was finally released officially. Just added to my list.

[peter johnson]

Here's something I KNOW will help EVERYONE with their understanding of the film:
Get ahold of any good anthology of Buddhist Koans and/or stories.  "Koans" are riddle meditations, and are different from stories.  Several well-known tales about a monk named Joshu are repeated in "El Topo", especially the part where he -- the gunfighter -- has shaved his head and become a monk himself.  The latest killer seeks him out and the gunfighter says sure, kill me, but first help me with this building project.  When the building project is complete, the gunfighter says "now you may kill me", and the killer can't, because he has helped his opponent build the project and sees The God Within him.  This is straight out of old Buddhist mythology.  There are more examples.
But rather than write a 10 paragraph letter, just go read the books -- they're short for the most part.
peter j/denny c

[Coffin Joe]

Did I mention that El Topo hooks up with a woman and teaches her how to shoot rocks and make them turn into water fountains?  He also shows her how to dig turtle (I think that they are turtle) eggs out of her shadow, no matter where she digs.

I think thats the whole sex/fertility/life thing going on there. Abstract representations of facials are funny.

[Scott]

Obviously I feel a rather strong connection with El Topo.  Strong enough to devote my entire forearm (all around) to imagery from the film.  Who wins for dork points?  That's right.  Me! 

Wow DodgingGrunge. You know that won't come off?  It does say something about the film.

Hope to find this on our local DVD shelves soon. Will pick the box set up when I find it.

Alejandro Jodorowsky Interview.

[youtube=425,350]http://youtubecom/watch?v=r4RK6vZ43hc&mode=related&search=.

El Topo and Holy Mountain were on a national art tour across the U.S. recently.

Here's the trailer.

[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=LwS7UGttAqA

[The Burgomaster]

The scenes of shooting rocks to produce water are definitely sexual images . . . one rock is clearly shaped like a penis.  When the woman shoots it, water spurts out from the tip and she starts drinking it like she's drinking out of a public drinking fountain.