Santa Sangre

Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and screenplay by Jodorowsky, Claudio Argento, and Roberto Leoni from a story by Jodorowsky, Santa Sangre (Holy Blood) is the story of a man who reflect on his life being raised in the circus as he looks back at his childhood and his life as an adult. The film is an unconventional life story that plays with unconventional narratives of flashback and flash-forwards to tell the story of this man’s life. Starring Cristobal “Axel” Jodorowsky, Adan Jodorowsky, Teo Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, and Guy Stockwell. Santa Sangre is a ravishing yet harrowing film from Alejandro Jodorowsky.

The film is a complex tale of a troubled and traumatized man who reflects on his life as a child living in the circus as a performer as he also copes with the demons of his past as an adult upon reuniting with his mother who wants him to kill women she sees as threats to her. The film is an unconventional story where it begins at an insane asylum where the protagonist Fenix (Cristobal “Axel” Jodorowsky) looks back at his life as a child magician (Adan Jodorowsky) where his parents were circus performers while his mother Concha (Blanca Guerra) was also a religious cult leader. Due to the infidelities of his father Orgo (Guy Stockwell), Concha would despise women as she disappeared leaving the young Fenix traumatized and institutionalized until he escapes, in the film’s second act as an adult, upon seeing her where she uses his arms to kill other women since she lost her arms following a fight with Orgo. For Fenix, whatever chances he has to find some normalcy or be with someone would be destroyed where he is consumed with guilt over his actions.

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s direction definitely bears not just style but also a lot of symbolism as it relates to the world that Fenix is in. A world of the whimsical and offbeat as well as the world of spirituality where Fenix is torn between two ideals that are each represented by his parents as both ideals have their flaws. Shot on location in Mexico, the film’s location represents that sense of conflict but also a world that is quite chaotic where Jodorowsky would create some dazzling compositions that play into some of the imagery that is prevalent in the film. The usage of wide and medium shots as well as some tracking shots play into some of the locations as well as the world that is the circus and the theatre where the latter play into the events in the film’s second act where Fenix returns to performing. The world of the whimsy wouldn’t just features a very bizarre scene that involve Fenix and Downs syndrome patients going to a brothel and snorting cocaine but also moments in Fenix’s performance as a magician.

The film’s violence is definitely graphic where Jodorowsky makes no qualms into the intensity of the violence that is in the film. The sequences in the first act that involve Concha and Orgo aren’t just gory but also have this impact where it is quite confrontational as it is really the start of what Fenix would be forced to do under Concha’s prompting. The scenes where Fenix is killing women where he is acting as Concha’s arms definitely add something that is very abstract but once Fenix’s arms would attack. All fucking hell breaks loose while there are also these elements where Jodorowsky also play into the fallacy of faith as it relates to what Concha believes in as well as what she tries to do. Especially in a scene where a Vatican magistrate (Sergio Bustamante) comes to her church to inspect this pool of blood where it showcases some of the fallacy of organized religion and faith. It would come ahead in the film’s climax in the third act as it play into Fenix’s struggle to be himself as well as the torment from his mother that continuously haunts him. Overall, Jodorowsky creates a terrifying yet rapturous film about a man’s struggle for sanity as he is tormented by demons in his life.

Cinematographer Daniele Nannuzzi does brilliant work with the film‘s very colorful and gorgeous cinematography with its usage of lights and moods for many of the daytime/nighttime exterior scenes along with unique lighting for some of the nighttime scenes. Editor Mauro Bonanni does excellent work with the editing as it has a few jump-cuts while maintaining something that is very straightforward and help play up some of the film‘s suspense. Production designer Alejandro Luna and set decorator Enrique Estevez do amazing work with the look of Concha‘s church and the shrine she created for her saint as well as the look of the circus and some of the places the characters go to. Costume designer Tolita Figueroa does fantastic work with the costumes that the characters wear as they‘re very colorful as well as have an air of personality into the characters and where they are in their lives.

Makeup supervisor Lamberto Marini does nice work with the design of the makeup from the look of Fenix‘s love interest Alma as well as the look of Alma‘s mother who is covered up with lots of tattoos. Special effects supervisor Marcelino Pacheco does terrific work with some of the minimal special effects as it relates to some of the magic tricks that Fenix performs as well as some of the intense moments of violence. Sound mixer Robert Camacho does superb work with the sound to play into some of the events in the circus as well as the party atmosphere in the streets. The film’s music by Simon Boswell is wonderful for its mixture of traditional Mexican folk music with some eerie synthesizer textures to play into the drama, comedy, and suspense where it help set a mood for a scene in the film while the soundtrack would feature songs played in a traditional ballad style.

The casting by Pablo Leder is great as it feature some notable small roles from Brontis Jodorowsky as a orderly at the institution, S. Rodriguez as a female wrestler called Santa, Hector Ortega as the institution doctor, Gloria Contreras as a performer that tried to seduce Fenix in Rubi, Jesus Juarez as a midget performance and friend of Fenix in Aladin, Sergio Bustamante as a Vatican official, Ma. De Jesus Aranzabal as a fat prostitute who would sleep with the Downs syndrome patients, and Teo Jodorowsky as the pimp who would give those patients cocaine and be this spark that would bring terror to Fenix. Faviola Elenka Tapia is terrific as the young Alma as this deaf-mute circus performer who would befriend the young Fenix while Sabrina Dennison is fantastic as the adult Alma who would remain deaf-mute where she would try to find Fenix and save him from the torment of his mother. Thelma Tixou is excellent as the tattooed woman who is Alma’s mother as she would seduce Orgo in a lot of ways and bring rage to Concha where she later becomes a prostitute and raise the ire of Fenix.

Guy Stockwell is superb as Fenix’s father as a circus performer who is also a hypnotist that tries to help his son become a man while also being flawed in the fact that he cheats on Concha to be with the tattooed woman. Blanca Guerra is amazing as Concha as Fenix’s mother who lost her arms during a fight with her husband as she becomes this figure of torment who forces her son to kill at urging where she has this very chilling presence that is just intriguing to watch. Adan Jodorowsky is brilliant as the young Fenix as this boy who deals with some of the events in his life as well as trying to be this performer who would lose his innocence in the most drastic ways. Finally, there’s Cristobal “Axel” Jodorowsky in an excellent performance as the adult Fenix as this troubled man that tries to regain some of his old innocence while dealing with the torment of his mother where it’s a very chilling and scary performance that is just fascinating to watch.

Santa Sangre is a phenomenal film from Alejandro Jodorowsky. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, compelling views on faith and torment, and some very intense moments of violence. It’s a film that explores the idea of torment and conflict through the eyes of a man as he reflects on his troubled childhood and already complicated life as an adult. In the end, Santa Sangre is a spectacular film from Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Alejandro Jodorowsky Films: La Cravate - Teatro sin fin - Fando y Lis - El Topo - The Holy Mountain - Tusk (1980 film) - The Rainbow Thief - The Dance of Reality - Endless Poetry - Psychomagic: a Healing Art

Related: Jodorowsky's Dune - The Auteurs #59: Alejandro Jodorowsky

© thevoid99 2016

2016 Cannes Marathon: The Dance of Reality

(Played as Part of the Director’s Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky that is based on his own novel, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality) is the story of Jodorowsky’s own life living in a Chilean coastal town near the desert as he copes with his surroundings. A mixture of coming-of-age narratives mixed in with elements of surrealism, the film is an exploration of a boy who deals with the world around him as well as his own family. Starring Brontis Jodorowsky, Adan Jodorowsky, Jeremias Herskovits, Pamela Flores, and Cristobal Jodorowsky. La danza de la realidad is a visually-astonishing and enchanting film from Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Set in the small Chilean coastal town of Tocopilla during the 1930s, the film revolves around the life of a young Alejandro Jodorowsky who tells his own life story about his childhood and life with his parents. With Jodorowsky appearing as himself and provide commentary about moments in his young life, it is a coming-of-age story where the young Alejandro (Jeremias Herskovits) deals with not just becoming a man but also in finding himself as he is raised by his strict, Communist father Jaime (Brontis Jodorowsky playing his grandfather) and his kind and graceful mother Sara (Pamela Flores). Jodorowsky’s screenplay doesn’t just create a surreal interpretation of his own childhood where he admittedly does embellish things a bit for dramatic purposes.

At the heart of the story is young Alejandro’s relationship with his parents where the boy deals with the two sides of what they believe. Jaime, who is a Ukrainian-Jewish man, is a firefighter who tries to prove his bravery and masculinity where he would eventually go into a major character arc for the film’s second half. An arc that would lead to a journey of his own as it relates to humanity and faith while the young Alejandro spends time with his mother as he copes with his own fears. Especially in the third act as doesn’t just deal with the loss of a friend from the film’s first half but also in the prejudice and ridicule his father faces for who he is. It would be a moment where father and son finally come together but also a moment that would be crucial to Alejandro’s own upbringing and view into the world.

Jodorowsky’s direction is spellbinding in not just for the fact that he shoots the film on location in Tocopilla as well as other parts of Chile. While some of the imagery and the way he portrays the town and such is definitely inspired by the works of Federico Fellini. Jodorowsky’s take on Fellini is more in the line of surrealism as well as creating something that is odd in some of the characters that the young Alejandro would encounter. Especially as it plays into that idea of faith and whether God exists or not along with questions of identity in not just the young Alejandro but also in Jaime. Jodorowsky’s usage of wide and medium shots capture the town of Tocopilla as it is a character of its own in a world that is very rural and ordinary but also has a sense of life in its colors and a few ceremonies where Jodorowsky does create something that is lavish but also very homegrown.

The direction also play into these gorgeous images as it relates to the world the characters encounter whether it is a scene involving people infested by the plague or a contest for dogs wearing costumes. It adds to a world that is strange but also somewhat disconnected in what Jaime sees in the latter where he would try to kill Chile’s then-president but has a plan that would eventually shape his view on humanity. Even as Jodorowsky knows when to not go for anything weird but also be confrontational in the reality that is seen as it relates to people who are poor and feeling disenfranchised. Still, Jodorowsky displays a sense of hope that Jaime and young Alejandro would encounter but also a melancholia that the old Alejandro would feel towards the film’s ending as it play into what he faced in his childhood. Overall, Jodorowsky creates a rapturous yet heart wrenching film of a boy coming of age in Depression-era Chile.

Cinematographer Jean-Marie Dreujou does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography in the way many of the colors are captured in many of the film‘s locations along with some gorgeous lighting for some scenes set at night. Editor Maryline Monthieux does excellent work with the editing in its usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into some of the drama and strange moments in the film. Art director Alisarine Ducolomb does fantastic work with the look of some of the sets including the shop Jaime runs as well as some of the look of the town and places that the characters would encounter. Costume designer Pascale Montandon-Jodorowsky does brilliant work with the costumes from the blue-like suit that young Alejandro wears to the very straight-laced clothes of his father along with some of the lavish clothes in the strange characters they would encounter.

Visual effects supervisor Ekkarat Rodthong does superb work with the visual effects in creating moments that add to some of the mystical and surreal elements of the film that the young Alejandro would encounter. Sound editor Sandy Notarianni does terrific work with a lot of the sound work that is presented on film including some of the raucous moments as well as the eerie scenes where Jaime works as a horse groomer for the president. The film’s music by Adan Jodorowsky is wonderful for its mixture of ambient and folk-based music to play into the world of Chile while music supervisor Jon Handelsman creates a soundtrack that includes some of the music that was played during the Depression as well as some classical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The film’s incredible cast include some notable small roles from composer Adan Jodorowsky as an anarchist who wants to kill the president that Jaime knows, Cristobal Jodorowsky as a strange philosopher named Theosophist who would give the young Alejandro some ideas about faith, Andres Cox as the president’s horse groomer Don Aquiles that Jaime would befriend and learn from, Sergio Vargas as an old carpenter Jaime would meet and find hope in, and Bastian Bodenhofer in an excellent performance as Carlos Ibanez del Campo as Chile’s then-right wing President who is seen as this cruel leader until Jaime sees an unexpected display of humanity that would trouble him. Jeremias Herskovitz is brilliant as the young Alejandro as a boy trying to find his identity as well as deal with his father’s demands along with elements of faith and reality. Pamela Flores is fantastic as Alejandro’s mother Sara as this woman who always sings whatever dialogue she is given as she is this woman of faith who shows her son the ways of the world where there is hope. Finally, there’s Brontis Jodorowsky in a sensational performance as his grandfather Jaime as a communist eager to prove his worth where he is tested by his own will only to deal with the realities he encounters as it’s a performance that requires a lot as Brontis delivers and more.

La danza de la realidad is a spectacular film from Alejandro Jodorowsky. Featuring a great cast that include his own sons including Brontis playing his grandfather as well as dazzling visuals and touching themes on the idea of family and growing up. The film is definitely strange in terms of the surrealism that Jodorowsky puts in but it’s also very accessible in how he puts in a lot of personal touches to a story that means a lot to him. In the end, La danza de la realidad is a tremendously ravishing film from Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Alejandro Jodorowsky Films: La Cravate - Teatro sin fin - Fando y Lis - El Topo - The Holy Mountain - Tusk (1980 film) - Santa Sangre - The Rainbow Thief - Endless Poetry - Psychomagic: a Healing Art

Related: Jodorowsky's Dune - The Auteurs #59: Alejandro Jodorowsky

© thevoid99 2016