The Holy Mountain (1973)

IMDb plot summary: In a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.

Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Stars Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas, and Zamira Saunders.

The Holy Mountain is a surrealist film by Alejandro Jodorowsky, so I’m not going to go much into plot because it’s not super comprehensible. I had heard of this movie but didn’t realize until I started watching that it was directed by the director of my all-time least favorite film, Fando y Lis, so I didn’t have high hopes for it. It wasn’t nearly that unpleasant, but it sure was boring for me. I understand that it's not plot-driven, that it's supposed to be surreal and full of symbolism, but after a while, it just felt like chaos for the sake of chaos. The visuals are often striking, sure, but without a narrative thread for me to latch onto, I couldn't stay invested. The most interesting part, by far, was the section showing life on different planets. Each one was unique and creative, and it was a fun little tangent that actually held my attention. But the rest of the film dragged on for what seemed like forever. Jodorowsky is not for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 The Holy Mountain (1973)

📊 Ranked #3679/4059 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 9

lost to Meet John Doe (held at #2026)

lost to Bottle Shock (#3040 → #2972)

lost to Enough (#3550 → #3510)

beat Winter Passing (#3803 → #3811)

beat I Accuse My Parents (#3676 → #3684)

lost to Hostage (#3613 → #3575)

lost to Airborne (#3644 → #3642)

lost to GoldenEye (#3660 → #3661)

lost to Wimbledon (#3668 → #3670)

 lost to The Godfather Part II (held at #3672)

lost to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (#3674 → #3671)

beat A Sound of Thunder (#3675 → #3683)