Ryan Marshall

Born Feb. 17, 1929, the Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky became a household name in the underground cinematic circuit when John Lennon happened upon his 1970 “acid western” EL TOPO, and even more so in 1973 when he made the ambitious and enigmatic THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, largely on Beatles manager Allen Klein’s money.

At 87 years old, Jodorowsky shows no signs of slowing down; his career is a genuinely fascinating one of drastic ups and downs. Any time he was down and out in the world of cinema, the surrealist maestro would turn to other mediums (music, comic books, painting, you name it) to cleanse his soul.

This is largely what all the man’s work has in common; everything is an exorcism. As a deeply spiritual and cultured individual, Jodorowsky is consistently on a path to enlightenment — and an unconventional one at that — composed of blood, abrasive soundscapes, and a peculiar dark wit.

As with most things, the artist is open about his unhappy childhood, which is recreated beautifully in his autobiography THE DANCE OF REALITY (which he adapted into an incredible film that marked his return to the screen after a twelve-year absence in 2013). However, this is hardly the first time the man had confronted his deep-seeded trauma; 1989’s SANTA SANGRE sees Jodorowsky entertaining a worst-case-scenario type of fantasy, one which is alternatively tragic and horrifying.

Even in earlier, lesser known films such as FANDO Y LIS (his outstanding black-and-white debut), Jodorowsky displays infinite knowledge and refreshing emotional honesty. He is first and foremost a surrealist, and as such his phantasmagorical worlds are painstakingly realized.

It’s interesting to note that he was once slated to direct an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s DUNE, though it ultimately was given to David Lynch some years after the fact. The documentary on the pre-production is worth a watch.

Lately, Jodorowsky been given a second chance at the art of the silver screen, and has yet another film that premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, titled ENDLESS POETRY. Patience does pay off, so long as one fills the time in between artistic pursuits with similarly worthwhile creative ventures — which is precisely what this man did.