Cult Films is a new feature that will appear every Tuesday. We will be discussing cult films, films that may not have been successful but have gathered a large following after their release.
By Jason Haskins
1989’s Santa Sangre teeters on the edge of pretentiousness and abrupt surrealism, yet is tied together by a tangible storyline. As one of the last directorial efforts of Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain, El Topo) it captures the very essence of Latin America culture through a twisted lens that reminds one of Black Orpheus mixed with a Dario Argento film.
A young man cloistered away in a mental asylum recounts how he got there from his upbringing in the circus and escapes to act out revenge in his mother’s name amongst the chaos of a dirty city that’s lost its way. It plays out like a horror movie after the first half, but amidst the set ups of death there are elegant arrangements of spectacle and bizarre transitions that make it much different from anything you’ve ever seen before. Those of you familiar with his films will understand what I mean.
Jodorowsky thrives in this setting with the tone, shifting between camp towards ambiguous symbology, graphic depictions of violence, and sexuality. This film is actually quite entertaining, but also very rich in artistic merit. It’s not pretentious or experimental to the point that you don’t know what’s happening in the movie despite the confusing nature of some of the sequences because there’s an actual story that’s easy to follow.
Much of the film is bursting value that’s quite timeless, from the gothic sort of set designs to the costumes and demented organ carnival music that plays for a majority of the film. The music definitely makes the movie that much more stunning. Simon Boswell’s score is eerie and playful in the most inappropriate ways that match the film’s complete and utter zaniness just perfectly.
Recently released on DVD (also available on Netflix’s Instant Watch), this is a primetime Cult Classic you might’ve missed—and one that’s certainly deserving of your affection. Throughout the two-hour running time you’ll be constantly entertained by how unpredictable and fresh all of the scenes are as well as the enthusiastic and intriguing performances of the entire cast. Not only is it a great amount of fun to watch, but it’s also bursting with a sense of art and culture that’s not tailor-made for any one audience. Most will probably dislike it (though I don’t know why), but if you like incredibly flexible tattooed women, blood, little people, music, and other things that go bump in the night then you’ll definitely get a kick out of Santa Sangre.
(c) Jason Haskins, 2011
By Jason Haskins
1989’s Santa Sangre teeters on the edge of pretentiousness and abrupt surrealism, yet is tied together by a tangible storyline. As one of the last directorial efforts of Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain, El Topo) it captures the very essence of Latin America culture through a twisted lens that reminds one of Black Orpheus mixed with a Dario Argento film.
A young man cloistered away in a mental asylum recounts how he got there from his upbringing in the circus and escapes to act out revenge in his mother’s name amongst the chaos of a dirty city that’s lost its way. It plays out like a horror movie after the first half, but amidst the set ups of death there are elegant arrangements of spectacle and bizarre transitions that make it much different from anything you’ve ever seen before. Those of you familiar with his films will understand what I mean.
Jodorowsky thrives in this setting with the tone, shifting between camp towards ambiguous symbology, graphic depictions of violence, and sexuality. This film is actually quite entertaining, but also very rich in artistic merit. It’s not pretentious or experimental to the point that you don’t know what’s happening in the movie despite the confusing nature of some of the sequences because there’s an actual story that’s easy to follow.
Much of the film is bursting value that’s quite timeless, from the gothic sort of set designs to the costumes and demented organ carnival music that plays for a majority of the film. The music definitely makes the movie that much more stunning. Simon Boswell’s score is eerie and playful in the most inappropriate ways that match the film’s complete and utter zaniness just perfectly.
Recently released on DVD (also available on Netflix’s Instant Watch), this is a primetime Cult Classic you might’ve missed—and one that’s certainly deserving of your affection. Throughout the two-hour running time you’ll be constantly entertained by how unpredictable and fresh all of the scenes are as well as the enthusiastic and intriguing performances of the entire cast. Not only is it a great amount of fun to watch, but it’s also bursting with a sense of art and culture that’s not tailor-made for any one audience. Most will probably dislike it (though I don’t know why), but if you like incredibly flexible tattooed women, blood, little people, music, and other things that go bump in the night then you’ll definitely get a kick out of Santa Sangre.
(c) Jason Haskins, 2011
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