The Holy Mountain Reviews

This inventive and bizarre adventure involves the search by Jodorowsky (the film's writer and director) for the Holy Mountain, on which dwell nine wise men who know the secret of immortality. Jodorowsky's route is littered with exotic, violently sacriligious images as he gains a group of followers that includes whores, thieves, and a chimpanzee. The mise-en-scene is packed with colorful, often shocking images (blood and body wastes are recurring motifs) but orchestrated in a creative delirium. THE HOLY MOUNTAIN quickly attained something of a cult following, as did Jodorowsky's earlier (and better known) EL TOPO. In preparation for the film, Jodorowsky spent a sleep-deprived week with a Japanese Zen master. "Maybe I am a prophet," he claimed during the production. "I really hope one day there will come Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, and Christ to see me. And we will sit at a table taking tea and eating some brownies."