The Dance of Reality (2013): Exorcising Demons on Screen (Fiction)

The Dance of Reality (2013)
dir: Alejandro Jodorowsky

Jodorowsky is constantly exorcising demons through film, but never has it been more explicitly laid out as in the semi-autobiographical The Dance of Reality.

In The Dance of Reality, Jodorowsky documents his childhood growing up as the son of Russian Jewish Communists in Catholic Fascist Chile under the rule of then-dictator Ibanez. Or, rather the film is more about what it felt like to be a kid growing up under those circumstances. But, more than conquering the societal differences, Jodorowsky is commenting on what it was like growing up with an unemotional brute of a father who believed he could toughen his son through emotional and physical abuse.

The two central characters are Jodorowsky as a young boy and his father Jaime (played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis). Jaime is a store owner, a fire fighter, and a card-carrying Communist who also believes that men should be men, and that teaching Alejandro to be stoic in the face of pain and suffering, then Alejandro will be more of a man. Early in the film, Jaime smacks Alejandro so hard, he breaks a tooth. When Alejandro has to go to the dentist, Jaime forces him to not take anesthesia as the pain makes him tougher. But, the child is not without emotional support. He gives himself a coddling mother who speaks only through opera. And, as a directorial conceit, Alejandro stars as himself standing behind his child avatar, telling him things about the future and offering support to his then-self. It's like those exercises where you write a letter to your child self.

This is the first Jodorowsky which has a directly identifiable major influence, namely that of Fellini's Amarcord, right down to the affinity for gigantic breasts (Alejandro's mom is remarkably well endowed), and bizarre sexuality. A major scene has Jodorowsky being invited into a young circle jerk, but then being rejected because he has been circumcised, while the other boys had not. Another is when he and his mother strips and cover themselves in shoe polish while chasing each other around the room. Clearly, Jodorowsky is exorcising some deep demons through this film.

The Dance of Reality is in part how he remembered childhood, and in part how he wished childhood actually was. He completely removes his older sister from the picture, explores Oedipal fantasies, and also sends his father on a third act journey to try to kill Ibanez, resulting in him being brutally tortured for no real reason and then coming back home broken and contrite. This blends seamlessly with Jodorowsky's usual heightened visuals and overloaded symbolism where the fantasias are filmed with the same surrealism as the realistic portions.

While Alejandro isn't explicit about which parts are real and which parts are fantasias, this is the first time he actually comes right out and explains what he means with his symbolism. Where Jodorowsky used to be content to give just a handful of dialogue that explains what's on screen, here he's spelling everything out through the dialogue. One representative scene is when a spiritualist gives Alejandro a metal symbol from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, and then explains that each symbol represents the same God...but then Alejandro's father flushes them down the toilet telling him that God doesn't exist. Because this film is more about exorcising personal demons than exploring universal ideas, it is a little forgivable, but it's still the most spelled out movie of his career.

Because of the digital, and the leaning on Amarcord, Jodorowsky's warped fantasies also are less absurdist or surreal than what he used to lead us to. His visual composition is still as stunning as ever, but has now become bolder and more saturated than in films past. However, gone are the strange imagery of potato Jesus statues or church bloodbaths. The medium didn't allow the pervasive strangeness of Jodorowsky's oeuvre.

In the end, The Dance of Reality is more like Jodorowsky lite. He's more interested in exploring his personal past than exploring universal ideas or even general history. If the symbolism gets too strong, he's always around to explain what's happening, and we don't have to work for anything in the film. At 135 minutes, it also feels a little long in the tooth. Despite the flaws of The Dance of Reality, Jodorowsky lite is still more entertaining and interesting than most mainstream films, and it's still highly recommended. It's Jodorowsky at his most accessible, and should be a good starting point if you've never experienced him before.

The Holy Mountain (1973): Religion is corrupt

The Holy Mountain (1973)
dir: Alejandro Jodorowsky

In the world of film, frequently once you unleash your work of art into the world, it no longer becomes your own. Especially if you're trafficking in spiritual and symbolic cinema where the viewer can, or must, inject himself and his own interpretations in order to fill in the gaps where his knowledge is lacking. The Holy Mountain, is probably one of the most symbolic and esoteric films unleashed onto a largely Christian public.

One of my first reviews explored the post-1969 world of spirituality through the documentary The Source Family, wherein a group of spiritual seekers formed around a patriarchal figure who formed his own makeshift religion out of common sense, and various other spiritualities including Paganism, Christianity, Buddhism, and almost anything you can imagine. Father Yod created an ur-religion to enlighten his flock, in a way.

Jodorowski's The Holy Mountain is about the quest for enlightenment and the Ultimate Truths of the universe. It is a satire, a quest, and a bit of snark all at once. It's weird, often visually stunning, and just a general freakout that was unleashed on the midnight crowds in the 1970s.

The Holy Mountain is actually divided into five acts. Act 1: History. Act 2: Trials of the Thief. Act 3: Current Events. Act 4: Death/Rebirth. Act 5: Quest. Each act is told in over-the-top symbolism, and each has its own brutality.

In Act 1, we follow the Thief (who can also be seen as The Fool), as he wanders through a Mexican town, accompanied by his partner, a midget with no hands or feet. They try to gather money by hook or by crook, and see a whole lot of symbolic gestures through their journeys. First they see the Pagan Mexico. Then, they wander upon a Frog and Salamander show called The Conquest of Mexico, in which Ancient Mexico is bombed and murdered and taken over by the Romans. The Romans then bring Catholicism to hock at Mexico, who buy into it in hoards. The Thief tried to get in on the action, and, already resembling other forms of Jesus, makes a figure of himself, and sells himself as crucifixes. But, he is rejected.  Upon rejection, he happens on a tall red obelisk, from which a large hook with gold comes down, and he decides to go up to see what is up there.

In Act 2, The Thief, now in the obelisk, meets The Alchemist. After dueling the alchemist, the alchemist cleanses the Thief, then turns the Thief's excrement into gold, and tells the Thief that he is excrement but can be turned into gold. Then he begins to train the Thief to become his second assistant.

Act 3 introduces The Thief, and the Audience, to a group of 7 different power players on Earth currently. Each is represented by a planet, and each represents the worst impulses of the world. There is an arms dealer, a kids war toys manufacturer, a sex artist, a government financier, a police chief, a cosmetics and mattress manufacturer, and an architect. Each are uniquely selfish, self-centered, and willing to sell out the world in order to make themselves a buck. Money rules almost every one of these power players.

Act 4 is all the trials of the whole group must go through before they can think about climbing the Holy Mountain. First they must abandon their worldly goods. Then, they must abandon their self. Then, they get steadily stripped down through a variety of chemicals and go through a death and rebirth sequence through which they can obtain a more pure sense of self.

Act 5 is the journey to the top of the mountain. They first go to Lotus Island. They start to get sidetracked at the Pantheon Bar, but reject that carnal sensibility. They must move on to achieve enlightenment. They begin their ascent, where they go through a trial of their fears, like lying naked with a bunch of tarantulas on your body!!!  OMG. And, finally, they reach the summit. The thief, however, is dismissed to be the next trainer at the top of the obelisk and gets a prostitute and monkey as a consolation prize. He finds eternity through love and not enlightenment. Which is OK, because it was all a strange sham anyways. When the rest of the group reach the top table, where they are supposed to duel the immortals, they find the immortals are dummies. The alchemist reveals that this is all a movie anyways, and true enlightenment must be found on your own. And there is real life outside of the movie screen. Go find it.

But, through that, there is a weird undercurrent of distrust of spirituality. The finale is a gimmick that is meant to not answer the big questions because that answer is always personal, but what of the group that is formed? It is formed of the worst people of society. Is it saying that anybody through giving of themselves can find spirituality once they abandon Earthly goods? Does this alleviate any of the wrong-doing they have set in motion? Is religion just as much an easy answer as, say, stopping at the Pantheon Bar?

And, Jodorowsky is also criticizing the hedonistic hippies even more than he is criticizing religion. At least the pagan spiritual religion that the movie is based in gets a fair shake. But, the druggie hippies who spout that enlightment can be found solely through a drug are shown to be idiots that should be ignored. As such, he is saying that they don't really believe that they've found spirituality, even though they claim to. They've just found a distraction. At the bar.

So, what is pure in The Holy Mountain? Is anything pure? Is anything worthwhile? Is the search for enlightenment a worthwhile gesture, or is it just a lark? Are we ever going to find anything? Was Jodorowsky tearing down everything he saw around him in order to find a way through? Is this another movie about the search for the greater something in the post-1969 black hole before disco and cocaine really took over? Is it fraudulent?

Whatever it is, it is a visually stunning, frequently obscene, sometimes blasphemous, biting, prescient piece of work. With constant nudity, violence, and viscera, Jodorowsky frequently keeps his viewers on their toes. That he also has an eye for extraordinary compositions makes The Holy Mountain an art piece to be reckoned with.

Required Viewing.