Santa Sangre
Dir: Alejandro Jodorowsky
1989
****
Alejandro Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre is typically laced with bizarre religious symbolism and gory, disturbing and yet somewhat beautiful violence. Alejandro Jodorowsky's long awaited return (16 years, via his film Tusk that didn't do so well) is just as disturbing and glorious as El Topo and The Holy Mountain but perhaps just not as good. This almost seemed mainstream compared to his older 'Cult' films, not a bad thing, it just doesn't seem as special, like Jodorowsky trying to out do himself. I remember hunting down a dodgy copy of El Topo in the early 90's, it took ages but when I got it, it was a good feeling, I totally understood what the underground fans had been going on about all that time. I rented Santa Sangre loads of times quite easily, so it never really had the same impact on a personal level. It is a crime that the great Alejandro Jodorowsky has made so few films, he's one in a million.