Movies - The Holy Mountain

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	Movies - The Holy Mountain

La montaña sagrada (The Holy Mountain, reissued as The Sacred Mountain) is a 1973 cult film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky who also participated as actor, composer, set designer, and costume designer. The film was produced by Beatles manager Allen Klein of ABKCO after Jodorowsky scored an underground phenomenon with El Topo
and the acclaim of both John Lennon and George Harrison (who also put up production money). It was shown at various international film festivals in 1973 and limited screenings in New York and San Francisco. However the film was never given wide release.

Preparation

The central members of the cast were said to have spent 3 months doing various spiritual exercises guided by Oscar Ichazo of the Arica Institute. The Arica training features Zen, Sufi and yoga exercises along with eclectic concepts drawn from the Kabala, the I Ching and the teachings of Gurdjieff. After the training, the group lived for one month communally in Jodorowsky's home before shooting began.

Plot

A man (identified later as a thief) is befriended by a footless handless dwarf and goes into a city to make money from tourists. His resemblance to Christ inspires some to use his likeness for the crucifixes which they sell. After a dispute with a priest who doesn't like the thief's wax crucifix of himself, the thief eats off the face of his wax statue and sends it skyward with balloons like an offering. Seemingly in response, an alchemist (played by Jodorowsky) in a high tower sends down a large hook with a bag of gold to entice the thief. He takes the bait and ascends the tower.

After a confrontation with the alchemist, the thief defecates into a bowl. The excrement is transformed to gold by the alchemist who exclaims: "you are excrement. You can change yourself in gold." The thief is introduced to 7 people who are said to be the most powerful but who, like the thief, are mortal. They are related to the planets in astrological terms and portrayed with broad-brush satire. The 7 consist of: a cosmetics manufacturer, a weapons manufacturer, an art manufacturer, a war-toy maker, a political financial advisor, a chief of police and an architect. They are gathered together by the alchemist who instructs them to burn their money and wax images of themselves.

They all journey to Lotus Island to gain the secret of immortality from 9 immortal masters who live on a holy mountain. During their travels, they are lead by the alchemist through several death/rebirth rituals. Once on Lotus Island they are sidetracked by the "Pantheon Bar," a cemetery party where people mistake drugs, poetry or physical prowess for the holy mountain. Leaving the party behind, they ascend the mountain and have personal symbolic visions of death. Near the top, the thief is sent back to his "people" along with a young prostitute and an ape who has followed him to the mountain. The rest confront the cloaked immortals who are shown to be only faceless dummies. The alchemist then reveals the film apparatus just outside the frame (cameras, light reflectors and crew) and instructs everyone (including the audience for the film) to leave the holy mountain. "Real life awaits us," he says.

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Movies - The Holy Mountain

Preparation

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