El Topo (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #16.1 extract: El Topo (1970)

There is something entirely transcendent of sense, articulation and reality imbued into the fabric of Jodorowsky's cinema and El Topo captivates this perfectly. 

As a series of absurd parables rife with symbolism, surrealism and insanity, El Topo is one of the most unique films you will probably ever see; and about as far removed from the western as you could formally get, El Topo is also a meta-narrative that defies definition and, to a certain degree, description. There is, however, an incredibly captivating quality woven into Jodorowsky's imagery, story and edit that place you into his wonderfully alien world and have you feel a strange sense of belonging. The best way to then describe this film would be to say it is like hearing a foreign language and understanding it, not knowing how such a thing is possible and not knowing how to describe or articulate what you've absorbed to anyone else. 

A masterpiece as defined by its own standards, El Topo is a film I urge and dare you to see.