The Holy Mountain, Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s follow-up to the western-drama El Topo, unfurls in a sort of free-association narrative fashion, experimenting with the conventions of typical cinematic storytelling.  It could be characterized as many things: surrealist, fantastical, experimental, erotic, allegoric, esoteric (and intentionally so). It comes together as a wild combination of all of these attributes, forming a loose satire on Western consumerism and the military industrial complex.

After The Holy Mountain was released, Jodorowsky ran into distribution trouble (something that many independent filmmakers of the present and past have experienced), which led to both El Topo and The Holy Mountain becoming nearly inaccessible for many decades.  Fortunately, this has changed in recent years, providing us a rather rare occasion to see his most influential films. You won’t want to miss this midnight movie at the Coolidge!

The Holy Mountain
1973
dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
114 min.

Screens Saturday, 9/10 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre – midnight!