starring Alexander Jodorowsky
directed by Alexander Jodorowsky
125 minutes
in Spanish with English subtitles
A man, El Topo (Alexander Jodorowsky), goes on a journey of discovery. He goes on a mission of revenge. His young son is with him. He kills bandits and soldiers who have raped and pillaged, men, women, and priests.
The first act ends with him leaving his son behind and leaving with a woman who tells him that he needs to defeat the four masters. One by one he finds the four masters and defeats them. Each of the masters is different. The woman, who insisted that he needed to defeat them all, shoots him and leaves him for dead.
El Topo wakes up underground, in a community of freaks. Once he has recovered he pledges to help them escape from their subterranean existence. He breaks free to the surface and explores a nearby town with a very short woman from the underground community. They beg for money. He stays true to his mission but when the freaks escape from underground they are gunned down by the townspeople.
El Topo, disgusted with what has happened, sets himself on fire, unaware that the woman who accompanied him has just given birth to his child.
Thoughts
From a distance this might look like a western but this is definitely not a traditional western movie.
This was my first time watching this movie. I was prepared for it in that I knew that it was some what controversial. I found it to be challenging to watch. I don't think it is my cup of tea. Some people might find it to be brilliant but I am not one of them. There's something to this movie but it was a little too slippery for me to grasp most of what it was saying or feel comforted by its embrace.
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