El Topo
Movie • 1970 • Action
ReportSynopsis
El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man. El Topo (the mole) claims to be God, while dressed as a gunfighter in black, riding a horse through a spiritual, mystical landscape strewn with old Western movie, and ancient Eastern religious symbols. Bandits slaughtered a village on his path, so El Topo avenges the massacred, then forcibly takes their leader's woman Mara as his. El Topo's surreal way is bloody, sexual and self-reflective, musing of his own demons, as he tries to vanquish those he encounters.
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Does someone attempt suicide?
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I got to the part where a lion is chained up and can barely move and stopped watching there.
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Actual rabbits were killed, many bodies are seen, one is shown dying and crying out in distress more than once. Two crows are shot dead, which also very well look to be real. Large lizards are shown being tossed about, dragged by rope, and used mockingly as horses. The lizards also look as if they are alive. A shaved, dead sheep is shown crucified against a stone wall.
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Were animals harmed in the making?
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Many rabbits were killed for the making of this film. The director has voiced his regret for the decision.
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Are rabbits harmed?
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Lots of rabbits are killed.
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Assault
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When I wanted to do the rape scene, I explained to [Mara Lorenzio] that I was going to hit her and rape her. There was no emotional relationship between us, because I had put a clause in all the women's contracts stating that they would not make love with the director. We had never talked to each other. I knew nothing about her. We went to the desert with two other people: the photographer and a technician. No one else. I said, 'I'm not going to rehearse. There will be only one take because it will be impossible to repeat. Roll the cameras only when I signal you to [...] And I really... I really... I really raped her. And she screamed."
In 2019, Jodorowsky addressed his earlier comments, clarifying that it was part of a publicity stunt: "They were words, not facts, Surrealist publicity in order to enter the world of cinema from a position of obscurity [...] I acknowledge that this statement is problematic in that it presents fictional violence against a woman as a tool for exposure, and now, fifty years later, I regret that this is being read as truth."
In 2019, Jodorowsky addressed his earlier comments, clarifying that it was part of a publicity stunt: "They were words, not facts, Surrealist publicity in order to enter the world of cinema from a position of obscurity [...] I acknowledge that this statement is problematic in that it presents fictional violence against a woman as a tool for exposure, and now, fifty years later, I regret that this is being read as truth."
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Children
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On screen
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