I had watched "The Holy mountain" a few years back and I've forgotten why and how I came across this film, for the "why" i meant, "The Holy Mountain" was made 20 years before I was born, and there, really wasn't any reason for me to watch it except for my boredom. But I am glad to have watched it, for it exposed me to the insight of art, "The Holy Mountain" became a definition of "Art" for me, and besides being "the" definition of "art" for me; "The Holy Mountain" had me questioning on the modern perception of "sanity", I used to have, and in fact many people still defines "insanity" if the action a person action or the thinking that person has, that does not relate to us or compromise with society, as an act of "insanity"; To think of it , even in retrospect , people have been defining "insanity", aforementioned. The definition of "sanity" should refer to a rationality of an individual; After watching "The Holy Mountain", I find the conclusion to the story, rational; The journey until the conclusion, surreal. The film and its imagery still lingers on my mind on a regular basis.
You will need some exposure to Christianity in order to understand the surface of the story, and anything beyond that, is up to your interpretation - my summary will consists of minor spoilers and some of my own interpretation; For the first 20mins , there is no dialogue, Jowdorosky bring us to a tour, a tour showcasing human's "insanity". During the tour, a scene with soldiers and man dancing in each other arm, struck me with a thought, is "insanity" conditional? Is it okay for people to be irrational for the sake of finding peace and sanity amidst chaos and insanity? After the tour , the main character(The Thief) a Christ-like figure, ventures into the surreal realm of the Alchemist. The Thief deemed the Alchemist as an adversary and attacks him, The Alchemist exhibits his powers and remove an alien substance that was seemingly the cause of The Thief's violent nature; The Alchemist then asked The Thief: "Do you want gold?" and The Thief replied "Yes", The Alchemist then made The Thief defecate into a container - Yes , you will watch him literally shitting, naked.The Alchemist then had The Thief go through a hellish process, sweat and tears are flowing out from The Thief, in order to transform the excrement into gold, an idiom for "working", maybe? and he said to the Thief: "You are excrement. You can change yourself into gold." . The quote made sense to me, humans sort of is, an excrement and we're working hard to turn into something worthy. The Thief is then introduced to 7 powerful humans who will accompany him on his journey, and each of their introduction conveys an emphasised sin, personifying Christianity 7 deadly sins. The Thief, The Alchemist and the 7 sins then embarks on their journey to The Holy Mountain to obtain immortality,and will they attain immortality? Not spoiling it for you. I believe that Jowdorosky's conclusion to the film, is an important underlying message, but revealing that message will spoil the essence of the film, I'm not spoiling it, so watch it yourself!
I recommend this film to people who likes surreal imagery, because every frame is wallpaper worthy; people who have an open sense of humor, because religion mockery is always funny; and lastly, people who are bored out of their mind.
The complete film is accessible via youtube, search for it.
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