Santa Sangre

Chilean-born Alejandro Jodorowsky gained fame as a cult film director with his sprawling, symbolic, surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain—brutal and strange cinematic odysseys made on small budgets and boasting an earthy crudeness. Santa Sangre (1989)—shot more than 15 years after The Holy Mountain—displays a more mature artistic sense: while just as allegorical and phantasmagorical, it's a more compelling and sophisticated work of visual storytelling that centers around a circus family's plunge into chaos after an act of infidelity by the father (Guy Stockwell). The focus here is on the son, Fenix (Jodorowsky's sons Adan and Axel play the younger and older Fenix, respectively), a mental patient whose madness is traced back to his traumatic childhood, as well as forward through a murder spree controlled by his vengeful armless mother (Blanca Guerra). An English-language production shot in Mexico, Santa Sangre mixes culturally specific art, myth, and religious archetypes with carnivalesque color and primal drives (think Psycho by way of Fellini on hallucinogens: surreal scenes, grotesque violence, and psycho-sexual trauma). Although rated NC-17 on its original American release, Santa Sangre is probably the most audience friendly and certainly the most polished film from Jodorowsky. The two-disc DVD and single-disc Blu-ray releases are beautifully mastered and feature a wealth of extras, including audio commentary by Jodorowsky, a feature-length “making-of” documentary, archival docs, interviews, a short film by Adan Jodorowsky, music videos, and trailers. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)