The Dance of Reality

Dir: Alejandro Jodorowsky

2013

*****

2013's The Dance of Reality represents the momentous return of the legendary director Alejandro Jodorowsky, 23 years after his last film The Rainbow Thief. It's both reminiscent but also unlike anything that the director has made before but it is every bit as wonderful as his most popular works; El Topo and The Holy Mountain. It's an autobiographical fantasy, mixing factual events of Jodorowsky's childhood with elements of metaphor, mythology and poetry, reflecting his view that reality is not objective but rather a dance created by our imaginations. In his own words; "The story of my life is a constant effort to expand the imagination and its limitations, to capture its therapeutic and transformative potential. An active imagination is the key to such a wide vision: it looks at life from angles that are not our own, imagining other levels of consciousness superior to our own". Taking place in the actual town where he grew up, Jodorowsky sought permission from the local government as well as the locals, who he involved as much they wanted. A lot of what you see is true and these are more obvious, fans can take educated guesses as to what certain aspects may mean and many scenes are open to interpretation, that is, they are probably known only to Jodorowsky himself. That said, most of the metaphor and mythology can be attached to various historical folk-law and other writings. It is a very personal film and clearly a form of therapy for the elderly director, the fact he has included so many of his family members suggests this. His wife was the costume designer and his eldest son, Brontis Jodorowsky, plays his father (Jamie Jodorowsk), while his Grandson (Jeremias Herskovits) plays his younger self. Two of Jodorowsky's other sons, Adan Jodorowsky and Cristobal Jodorowsky, play an Anarchist and a Theosophist, respectively while he himself plays the current version of himself, credited as Old Alejandro. There are some incredibly moving scenes where Jodorowsky and his Grandson stand together, facing many of the challenges ahead, sometimes with young Alejandro cradled and other times with old Alejandro standing behind him supportively. It's rare (possibly the first time?) that so many family members are together on film, exploring their own histories, in such a powerful and emotional way. While The Dance of Reality has a crisper look to it and the background includes ignored modern day life as it happens (not in keeping with the 1930s setting) it's just as fantastical and surreal as you'd expect and hope from a Jodorowsky production. The legendary director turned his back on cinema a long time ago, citing the hatred of film being all about money, so with The Dance of Reality he said he wanted to lose money rather than make any and decided to fund the film entirely from donations. It's something the likes I've never seen before and I believe something that's never been made before. It's a fascinating idea, a rich fantasy that entwines real people, places and history in this surreal but beautiful dance of memory - whether it be accurate or not is never the point. Definitely something to immerse yourself in that will require repeat viewing but only because there is something new to discover with every watch. I cannot think of another director who would film an opera singer urinate on his own son, I'm so glad he's making films again.