“El Topo” was written, directed and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky. In addition, Jodorowsky also contributed to the music, editing, and costumes for this midnight western. The entire movie is an act of symbolism, however no clear lines are drawn, so everyone who watches this movie will gain a different understanding.
The film opens with El Topo (Jodorowsky) dressed in black, and his 7-year-old son (played by his real-life son, Brontis Jodorowsky), dressed only in a hat, riding through the desert to a presumably predetermined location. The Mole instructs his son that he is now a man, and therefore must now bury his childhood. This childhood is symbolized by the child’s first toy and a mother’s photo of him.
It is never fully explained why the boy appears as he does in the first part of the film, but one can guess that this is to portray his purity and innocence in contrast to the dark aura manifested by his father, who is a gunslinger without fear. heart.
After their initiation into manhood, father and son ride seemingly with no specific destination in mind. They soon enter a village where all the inhabitants (man, woman and child), including the cattle, have been slaughtered. The two pilgrims walk calmly through the town, taking everything in with a nonchalant air. They soon come across a single survivor who begs them to kill him. After finding out who had massacred the villagers, El Topo hands his pistol to his son and tells her to shoot the man. The boy obeys, but quickly buries himself in the arms of his father.
The Mole proceeds to hunt down the outlaws who had killed the townspeople. After killing them all, he abandons his son to a group of monks and leaves with the woman who had been held captive by the outlaws. This leads the viewer to the second part of the film, which is even more extravagant than the first.
While the first part of the film was a representation of good versus evil, the second part represents a more confusing view of good versus evil. The viewer is left with the impression that there is no black and white, that everything is just a gray area, where all outcomes, good or bad, are simply the work of fate.
“El Topo” is not classified, but viewer discretion is advised.