SANTA SANGRE is visually shocking, deeply moving in substance, and haunting in atmosphere. Truly, an unforgettable experience. Please, watch it with regular expectations and don't let anyone tell you what's it about. That way, the viewing experience is more than satisfying. It's memorable, and will haunt you forever.
Jodorowsky's direction is masterful. I can't remember any other film with such classy, inventive, macabre, camera angles such as these. EVERY SINGLE scene is memorable and that's why it might get dull for some people; I just wanted more running time than just two hours. The bizarre nightmares (the graveyard mimes, the falling chickens, etc.) demonstrate Jodorowsky's unique powerful imagery and bizarre early Buñuel influences. Nonsense visual shocks were never this real and haunting. He created a bizarre world for his main character.
Fènix's situation is an anthem for unwanted self-destruction. It always makes me sad because he is a tormented soul that couldn't face his inner fears mainly because of his condition. He wasn't a serial killer by choice, he just followed his naive but macabre feelings mainly because of "his mother's" orders. The Freudian references were just consequences of his hallucinations and displayed how much he depended of his mother (as a child, it's perfectly shown when he runs and holds her after the church demolition). He's a devastated human being with a beautiful twisted mind.
Every single scene is perfectly ambiented and that's highly important for the plot. Dialogs are important but not essential and that could give you an idea of how visually impressive and memorable is. The atmosphere of the movie is dark by nature but the colorful art direction and extremely detailed cinematography make it a unique visual experience. The scenes where the church is demolished and the poetic elephant funeral are perfect examples. The settings are dark but beautiful. The church is simply impressive; the holy blood river, the shrine... the place where Fènix's dad tattoos him, And that's just to name a few. The symbolism in each scene is something unique. Impressive, delightful direction, art direction, cinematography, score. The acting is from another world. Axel Jodorowsky and Blanca Guerra steal the show with memorable, blowing mind experience. Axel is simply magnificent. His performance is unreal, moving. Guerra delivers the best performance in her honorable career. The girls who played Alma are simply fantastic (not to mention beautiful). Their eyes can tell many things and display strong emotions. Now, that's a lesson in corporal acting.
Some scenes have haunted me for long time and even gave my nightmares. Some of them have truly moved me; for example, when Fènix and a clown are holding each other and Fènix while crying says "my mommy is dead", that's when he realizes about everything. A moving, sad, tender scene. Some of them didn't have a reason to exist but Jodorowsky thought they would be necessary to re-affirm Fènix's confrontation with his twisted mind and the struggle with his mother for control of his life (for example, the anaconda struggle scene). "Everyone I know goes away in the end, and you could have it all, my empire of dirt".
The music is simply brilliant (some of Mèxico's most influential songs and lyrics). I never thought of a weirdest way to play "Besame Mucho". Some of these songs are haunting alone but the way Jodorowsky uses them is much more intense. My favorite piece of score is when Concha is about to throw acid on her husband's genitals; the same score repeats when Concha tries to stab Almita (near the ending).
The middle part of the movie focuses on making you believe you are living a dream in the flesh.
The ending deserves a standing ovation. The moment where Concha tries to stab Alma is simply nerve tensing and macabre. Alma just standing with her arms wide open, the background lightning and dark. A memorable moment! Also, the very last scene when Fènix realizes that he has finally the control of his hands is a beautiful scene that metaphors how he recovered his own life. The biblical quote/passage re-affirms it.
The movie can be divided in two different periods. First deals with the tormented childhood of the principal character. Meet Fènix, a young, tender, boy who lives with his family in a circus. He's an aspiring magician whose only friends are a pretty deaf-mute girl, and a midget named Aladino. Fènix parents are disturbed people who are a display of Mèxico's lower discriminated class. The father is a ragging alcoholic who abuses and cheats on his wife. The mother suffers from sick jealousy and she worships a strange saint whose status is explained through a "retablo" (a typical Mexican tradition that deals with painting and drawing the events of WHY someone has reached a saint status). Fènix's life is colorful but sad. He learns how to be a man in the hard way, and he witnesses how his mother gets in trouble to the point of risking her life just to defend the saint's "holy blood". He also deals with the death of an elephant he loved too much. His life is predetermined to be painful : dealing with prostitutes, alcoholic beggars, and more social wastes. But his life changes when he witnesses how his father kills himself after cutting her mother's arms. At the same time, his only friend and (future) tender love interest goes away.
The second part is stronger in content because of the nasty death sequences and strong criticism against society (down syndrome boys inhaling coke and hooking up with prostitutes, drunken soldiers, pimps in Pachuco style, discrimination, etc.). It also has a resolution for Fènix's inner struggle against his mother.
My favorite movie of all time, hands down. Join the macabre, beautiful, dark, symbolic, haunting world of SANTA SANGRE. An underrated masterpiece that deserves recognition and a shrine.
Jodorowsky's direction is masterful. I can't remember any other film with such classy, inventive, macabre, camera angles such as these. EVERY SINGLE scene is memorable and that's why it might get dull for some people; I just wanted more running time than just two hours. The bizarre nightmares (the graveyard mimes, the falling chickens, etc.) demonstrate Jodorowsky's unique powerful imagery and bizarre early Buñuel influences. Nonsense visual shocks were never this real and haunting. He created a bizarre world for his main character.
Fènix's situation is an anthem for unwanted self-destruction. It always makes me sad because he is a tormented soul that couldn't face his inner fears mainly because of his condition. He wasn't a serial killer by choice, he just followed his naive but macabre feelings mainly because of "his mother's" orders. The Freudian references were just consequences of his hallucinations and displayed how much he depended of his mother (as a child, it's perfectly shown when he runs and holds her after the church demolition). He's a devastated human being with a beautiful twisted mind.
Every single scene is perfectly ambiented and that's highly important for the plot. Dialogs are important but not essential and that could give you an idea of how visually impressive and memorable is. The atmosphere of the movie is dark by nature but the colorful art direction and extremely detailed cinematography make it a unique visual experience. The scenes where the church is demolished and the poetic elephant funeral are perfect examples. The settings are dark but beautiful. The church is simply impressive; the holy blood river, the shrine... the place where Fènix's dad tattoos him, And that's just to name a few. The symbolism in each scene is something unique. Impressive, delightful direction, art direction, cinematography, score. The acting is from another world. Axel Jodorowsky and Blanca Guerra steal the show with memorable, blowing mind experience. Axel is simply magnificent. His performance is unreal, moving. Guerra delivers the best performance in her honorable career. The girls who played Alma are simply fantastic (not to mention beautiful). Their eyes can tell many things and display strong emotions. Now, that's a lesson in corporal acting.
Some scenes have haunted me for long time and even gave my nightmares. Some of them have truly moved me; for example, when Fènix and a clown are holding each other and Fènix while crying says "my mommy is dead", that's when he realizes about everything. A moving, sad, tender scene. Some of them didn't have a reason to exist but Jodorowsky thought they would be necessary to re-affirm Fènix's confrontation with his twisted mind and the struggle with his mother for control of his life (for example, the anaconda struggle scene). "Everyone I know goes away in the end, and you could have it all, my empire of dirt".
The music is simply brilliant (some of Mèxico's most influential songs and lyrics). I never thought of a weirdest way to play "Besame Mucho". Some of these songs are haunting alone but the way Jodorowsky uses them is much more intense. My favorite piece of score is when Concha is about to throw acid on her husband's genitals; the same score repeats when Concha tries to stab Almita (near the ending).
The middle part of the movie focuses on making you believe you are living a dream in the flesh.
The ending deserves a standing ovation. The moment where Concha tries to stab Alma is simply nerve tensing and macabre. Alma just standing with her arms wide open, the background lightning and dark. A memorable moment! Also, the very last scene when Fènix realizes that he has finally the control of his hands is a beautiful scene that metaphors how he recovered his own life. The biblical quote/passage re-affirms it.
The movie can be divided in two different periods. First deals with the tormented childhood of the principal character. Meet Fènix, a young, tender, boy who lives with his family in a circus. He's an aspiring magician whose only friends are a pretty deaf-mute girl, and a midget named Aladino. Fènix parents are disturbed people who are a display of Mèxico's lower discriminated class. The father is a ragging alcoholic who abuses and cheats on his wife. The mother suffers from sick jealousy and she worships a strange saint whose status is explained through a "retablo" (a typical Mexican tradition that deals with painting and drawing the events of WHY someone has reached a saint status). Fènix's life is colorful but sad. He learns how to be a man in the hard way, and he witnesses how his mother gets in trouble to the point of risking her life just to defend the saint's "holy blood". He also deals with the death of an elephant he loved too much. His life is predetermined to be painful : dealing with prostitutes, alcoholic beggars, and more social wastes. But his life changes when he witnesses how his father kills himself after cutting her mother's arms. At the same time, his only friend and (future) tender love interest goes away.
The second part is stronger in content because of the nasty death sequences and strong criticism against society (down syndrome boys inhaling coke and hooking up with prostitutes, drunken soldiers, pimps in Pachuco style, discrimination, etc.). It also has a resolution for Fènix's inner struggle against his mother.
My favorite movie of all time, hands down. Join the macabre, beautiful, dark, symbolic, haunting world of SANTA SANGRE. An underrated masterpiece that deserves recognition and a shrine.