The Holy Moutain

[toothsomesound]

Who here has seen it? Watched it over the weekend. One of my co-workers gave it to me and really talked it up for me. Curious to hear people's opinions. For the uninitiated:

"La Montaña Sagrada (The Holy Mountain, reissued as The Sacred Mountain) is a 1973 cult film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky who also participated as actor, composer, set designer, and costume designer. The film was produced by Beatles manager Allen Klein of ABKCO after Jodorowsky scored an underground phenomenon with El Topo and the acclaim of both John Lennon and George Harrison (John and Yoko Ono put up production money). It was shown at various international film festivals in 1973, including Cannes,[1] and limited screenings in New York and San Francisco. However the film was never given wide release until 2007, when a restored print toured the United States, screening with El Topo, and released in DVD format from May 1. The film is based on "The Ascent of Mt. Carmel" by St. John of the Cross and "Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing" by Rene Daumal, a student of G.I. Gurdjieff. In particular, much of Jodorowsky's visually psychedelic story follows the metaphysical thrust of "Mount Analogue" such as the climb to the Alchemist, the assembly of individuals with specific skills, the discovery of the mountain that unites Heaven and Earth "that cannot not exist" and symbolic challenges along the mountain ascent. Daumal died before finishing his allegorical novel, and Jodorowsky's improvised ending provides a clever way of completing the Work (symbolic and otherwise.) The central members of the cast were said to have spent 3 months doing various spiritual exercises guided by Oscar Ichazo of the Arica Institute. The Arica training features Zen, Sufi and yoga exercises along with eclectic concepts drawn from the Kabbalah, the I Ching and the teachings of Gurdjieff. After the training, the group lived for one month communally in Jodorowsky's home before shooting began. Jodorowsky was also instructed by Ichazo to take LSD for the purpose of spiritual exploration, and he administered psilocybin mushrooms to his actors during the shooting of the death-rebirth scene." From The Holy Mountain wiki

 

[javyn]

Brilliant movie as is everything by Jodorowsky. Glad to see Allen Klein released it right before he died. He swore for years he wouldn't.

 

[toothsomesound]

Why didn't Klein want to release it?

Also what was your take on it Javyn? I'm curious as I know you're pretty atheistic and don't seem to be a big fan of spiritualism.

 

[javyn]

Originally Posted by AndrewRyanWallace

Why didn't Klein want to release it?

Also what was your take on it Javyn? I'm curious as I know you're pretty atheistic and don't seem to be a big fan of spiritualism.

Klein and Jodorowsky had some sort of falling out which resulted in "I'll never release any of his movies so long as I live". I don't know the details.

Also, I'm probably not smart enough to completely understand the film (probably the only person in the world who will admit it rather than bullshitting what it's about) but still, the film seemed pretty damn atheistic to me.

 

[Tangfastic]

I watched this a few months ago, I found it surprisingly enjoyable. For me all the alchemical death / rebirth / transformation symbolism takes a very far back seat to the inventiveness and humour of the images.

 

[toothsomesound]

Originally Posted by Tangfastic

I watched this a few months ago, I found it surprisingly enjoyable. For me all the alchemical death / rebirth / transformation symbolism takes a very far back seat to the inventiveness and humour of the images.
This is why I liked it, honestly. Javyn, I had the same initial reaction but my co-worker who actually got me to watch the film insists that it is a spiritual message received by Jodorowsky and delivered to the people in this convoluted allegorical form. Not sure I entirely believe it, nor would I go so far as to say I understood more than half of all the allusions but it was fun for me at least. If the preparation Jodorowsky and the crew underwent for the film is any indication, there was certainly a strong and serious search for something between the hallucinogens and kaballistic rituals. Or they just had a really good time going nuts. Anyway the person I watched it with hated it and kept ranting about what a waste of money it must've been with all the animals and different locales etc...dunno, I thought it was fun and gratuitous. Also apparently very influential.

 

[Tangfastic]

Originally Posted by AndrewRyanWallace

my co-worker who actually got me to watch the film insists that it is a spiritual message received by Jodorowsky and delivered to the people in this convoluted allegorical form. Not sure I entirely believe it, nor would I go so far as to say I understood more than half of all the allusions but it was fun for me at least.
I'm not sure the film in itself is a message. The history of alchemical thought is to hide information in allegory. The theory and practice of personal alchemy is something that involves a process of work to achieve the desired personal change. I think it more likely Jodorowsky intended it as an aid (or even in-joke) to those already undergoing this work rather than using it as a mass message to recruit the uninitiated.

 

[javyn]

Well the point I got from it was their spiritual pilgrimages were a complete waste of time. Pretty funny at the end when they finally got to the top of the mountain where they'd find enlightenment, only to find out there wasn't any, and Jodorowsky laughed at them and said just live your damn lives.

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

It's good, but no El Topo.

 

[onion]

Originally Posted by javyn

Well the point I got from it was their spiritual pilgrimages were a complete waste of time. Pretty funny at the end when they finally got to the top of the mountain where they'd find enlightenment, only to find out there wasn't any, and Jodorowsky laughed at them and said just live your damn lives.

This was pretty cool, and I like the point he tries to make in this. I didn't really see the film ending like this at all, but I think it was perfect.

Originally Posted by AndrewRyanWallace

This is why I liked it, honestly.

Javyn, I had the same initial reaction but my co-worker who actually got me to watch the film insists that it is a spiritual message received by Jodorowsky and delivered to the people in this convoluted allegorical form. Not sure I entirely believe it, nor would I go so far as to say I understood more than half of all the allusions but it was fun for me at least. If the preparation Jodorowsky and the crew underwent for the film is any indication, there was certainly a strong and serious search for something between the hallucinogens and kaballistic rituals. Or they just had a really good time going nuts. Anyway the person I watched it with hated it and kept ranting about what a waste of money it must've been with all the animals and different locales etc...dunno, I thought it was fun and gratuitous. Also apparently very influential.

Agreed. Glad I'm not the only one.

I also had a similar experience to your last point. The friend I watched it with thought it was awful; in fact, he said it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen.

 

[javyn]

I still preferred El Topo. Oh hell, I can't say that. I liked all 3 equally just for different reasons, even the more accessible Santa Sangre.