THE HOLY MOUNTAIN: Satire for the LSD generation
ENLIGHTENMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE?
In a way The Holy Mountain is the gateway drug into experimental cinema. It’s a decadent, hallucinogenic rollercoaster of a film, thats tongue-in-cheek attitude never takes itself too seriously. Despite the sheer scale of themes and ideas that it attempts to tackle, this playful approach has kept it supremely loved in the decades that have followed since its release. Yet, what can this film tell us about society? Does it still hold some relevance in the post-digital world that we find ourselves in?
The Holy Mountain was released in 1973, written and directed by legendary cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky. The backstory to its creation is worthy of a film in itself. It was financed by The Beatles manager Allen Klein after he was introduced to the director by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Inspired by the 16th century spiritual treatise Ascent of Mount Carmel and the book Mount Analogue by Rene Damal, Jodorowsky prepared for the filming of the movie by spending a week without sleep under the guidance of a Japanese Zen master. During filming, the main cast spent months doing a variety of spiritual exercises that included Zen, Sufi and yoga practices. To top things off Jodorowsky gave the actors psilocybin mushrooms in order to get them into the correct frame of mind during a pivotal scene.
The movie begins with a figure resembling Jesus Christ (dubbed “the thief” in the screenplay), passed out drunk and surrounded by swarming flies. He represents the tarot card of “The Fool” and he is the main character of the opening act. We follow him as he embarks on a series of surreal incidents which range from smoking marijuana with a handless dwarf to witnessing the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, acted out by a group of toads. Where his journey really starts to become interesting though is when he enters the tower of an alchemist.
It’s in this tower that he is introduced to seven people who each personify a particular planet in our constellation. What they represent is in fact the negative attributes that have traditionally been associated with each planet. Each one of these characters tell a satirical story of the vices that are inherent in our society; in a way they are Jodorowsky’s way of telling us that to become enlightened and to evolve, we must first be aware of the problems that exist within us.
1.FON (Venus)
A DREAM...CONSTRUCTED
The first character we meet is Fon, of the planet Venus. He is a cosmetic manufacturer who has a great number of wives that he only has sex with at work, flip flopping between them like someone ordering at a restaurant. His products range from fake muscles to masks that create the illusion of anyone you wish to be. His work is that of fantasy creation, holding up a mirror to the fashion-filled and social media driven world that we live in; a world in which even the best of us sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is not.
“We know that people want to be loved, not for what they are but for what they appear to be.”
2. ISLA (Mars)
RELIGIOUS WARFARE
The next planet is that of Mars, personified by the weapon manufacturer Isla. Her sequence is one of the most beautiful and lush parts of the movie, depicting her emerging from a glamorous bed before she travels to her factory to oversee the construction of her weapons. In an ironic twist of fate the beneficiaries of her weapons are religious followers. She creates cross-shaped pistols and Buddha statues packed to the brim with ammunition. It doesn’t take a scholar of history to be aware of the numerous wars that have taken place in the name of religion; one of the greatest contradictions of society.
“We are experimenting with a drug to create delusions of grandeur.”
3. KLEN (Jupiter)
FACTORY LINE ART
Klen is an art dealer of the planet Jupiter. However it appears that art is merely a means for him to massage his own ego rather than something beautiful and worthwhile in of itself. He spends his time ignoring his wife, cheating and producing art work on a factory line through the use of various assistants. It is this factory-like comparison that strikes close to home and in a way reminds me of Thierry Guetta also known as "Mr. Brainwash”, who was the star of the 2010 film by Banksy Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was Thierry's obsession with fame and commercial success over anything else that ultimately led to a lack of credibility in both himself and of the art industry as a whole.
“We produce a new line of art every season.”
4. SEL (Saturn)
PROPAGANDA MACHINE
The fourth planet on the list is Saturn represented by a clown dressing woman called Sel. Her job is the manufacturing of war toys and the brain washing of children. Employed by the government, her goal is to produce an army, trained from youth to hate a common enemy. A common enemy decided not by ourselves or by logical reasoning but by those in power. Fake news and unquestioned media sources are abundant in the age of information that we live in; this sequence is a cautionary tale of the power of propaganda.
“We manufacture hyper-sexed brown native vampires that can only be destroyed by a cross the colour of white skin.”
5. BERG (Uranus)
ECONOMY OVER THE PEOPLE
Next is Berg of the planet Uranus. Him and his wife are financial advisors to the government. What makes them a truly sick couple is their complete lack of regard to the citizens of their country. When faced with the prospect of a failing economy, rather than look for some humanitarian solution to the crisis, they decide to go ahead with the construction of gas chambers and gas brothels; sentencing a large swathe of the population to an early death. A chilling reminder of the corruption of government in the pursuit of greed.
“Begin the operations of the gas chambers, gas schools, gas universities, gas libraries, gas museums, gas dance halls and gas whore houses...”
6. AXON (Neptune)
CULT OF PERSONALITY
With the planet Neptune we meet Axon, a hulking figure of a man and the chief of police for his world. We are introduced to him in the middle of a castration ceremony, mutilating one of his disciples who is vowing to demonstrate his loyalty. This loyalty begins to border on almost cultish fervour with the rest of the police force, before we are shown Axon and his disciples exterminating a group of young protestors in one of the most surreal scenes of the movie.
“Of your own free will you came to surrender part of your body to me.”
7. LUTE (Pluto)
HOME IS A LUXURY
Finally we are confronted with Lute from the “planet” Pluto, a twisted and maniacal architect. His thesis is that man does not need anything as glamorous as a house but would be sufficient sleeping in a coffin after work. His twisted vision of the future is one of huge complexes of coffins piled upon each other like apartment blocks, filling the skyline of our cities like a bloody monument to extreme capitalism. Rather than being hounded for his ideas, his presentation is met with cheers and adoration from the crowd.
“A man doesn’t need a home, all he needs is a shelter.”
NONSENSICAL ENLIGHTENMENT
The Holy Mountain is to this day an astonishing film; hypnotic and supremely ambitious in its vision. While it may be derided by some for its incoherent plot and nonsensical scenes, this film still has a lot to say about today’s society. It shines a light into the darkest depths of our hearts, not with the intention of being cynical or self-serving but to actually make us stop and think about our lives. To open our minds to possibilities of spirituality and to question the institutions that mould and shape our way of thinking. For that reason alone, I believe there is still a lot to be gained from watching this classic work of art from the unique mind of Jodorowsky.
