El Topo (film review)

El Topo – 1970 – Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky – shot in Mexico
My rating:  * * * *

One of the more bizarro movies I’ve seen in my life. It’s hailed as a supernatural western. Imagine if Rambo was on such a determined spiritual quest to find God, that he would stop at nothing, even if that meant challenging the most revered sages to duels and killing his way into Heaven.  No one will stand in El Topo’s way – not the teachers whose advice he desperately seeks – not even himself.

On his journey, he comes face to face with his most formidable nemisis; a desert dwelling shaman who speaks in mystical poetry, catches bullets with a butterfly net, and has in his arsenal, weapons more powerful than bullets – the force of his trained mind, and the unassailable power of love.

“The desert is circular.  To find the Masters, we will have to travel in a spiral.”
El Topo

I rate it * * * * 4 out of 5 stars for originality.