El Topo

Rent the film to receive an invite to our livestream Q&A with Alejandro Jodorowsky on August 8th.

EL TOPO is a surrealistic interpretation of a biblical story with a sprinkle of Zen Buddhism and the teachings of the Tarot cards wrapped up in an Acid Western, shot in the Mexican desert, with images so visceral and powerful, it invented a genre. You will feel the heat of the sun on your neck, the sand in your eyes, and the blood in your mouth.

Jodorowsky writes, directs, and stars as EL TOPO (The Mole), a black-clad gunslinger with his naked son over his shoulder. He must go up against four of the greatest gun masters and learn their lessons. This task is not easy on his body or his mind.

The plot is ripe with quintessential Jodorowsky mysticism and overt religious symbolism, full of fantastical surprises at every turn.

The film played for six months straight at the Elgin Theater in New York City and received much high profile praise. David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, and Marilyn Manson all credit the film as a source of inspiration. John Lennon and Yoko Ono declared this film a masterpiece and went so far as to give Jodorowsky carte blanche funding for his next film, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN.

“It’s a bizarre head-trip festival of occult psychedelia, heatstroke visuals, Age-of-Aquarius nude dancing and violence.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian