Holy Mountain

I watched a movie and it is called Holy Mountain, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, released in 1973. It is a surreal story about a man called "thief" who resembles Jesus, who comes in contact with an alchemist in a tower, who leads him on the path to immortality with seven others. That is only the half of it though.
Like I said, it is a surrealist movie and has a lot of religious imagery and Tarot card imagery. It is really hard to explain, one really has to experience it. Not just see it, experience it. I had no clear idea what this movie was going to be about, I had not even heard of the director. I was just looking through movies to watch late one night (as I tend to do) and this one struck me. The opening sequence alone was enough to reel me in. I don't mind surreal films. In fact, Un Chien Andalo, 1929, that Luis Buñuel and Salvadore Dali had worked on together is one of my favourite movies to watch on occasion because it is so strange but so very artistically enriching to watch because it takes you on a journey (albeit short) and you are left to wonder. This is what Holy Mountain is in so many words. I also don't have a problem with religious imagery that is featured in the movie because I am open minded that way. I will not discuss it here, though if you are offended by that, I would probably tell you to avoid this movie. However, by doing so, you are missing out on something very thought provoking and evocative of what and how religion is interpreted by different countries. At least that is how I felt about it by the end of the movie. A lot of people complain about the ending but I thought it was a nice touch by Jodorwsky because you get so emotionally invested into the characters and the actions that are happening on screen that it is hard to break away from that I think. The movie is based on some source material: Ascent of Mount Carmel by John of the Cross and Mount Analogue by René Daumal. I don't know by how much but I thought it was worth mentioning in this review. There are some psychedelic aspects to this movie too that can be slightly off putting, just so you know.
Overall, I thought this was an excellent movie and had a very strong story, interesting, provocative imagery and a pretty solid cast. I do want to warn that there is some nudity, some animal imagery that might be too much for some and some other questionable content however do not let this deter you from this movie experience.