Santa Sangre (1989)

Jodorowsky improves upon ideas he touched upon in his debut film, "El Topo," with this exquisitely crafted gem. Santa Sangre depicts a truly original perspective on a mother-son relationship and while the first half of the film is all set-up, the second half is of the oh-my-god-jaw-to-the-ground-excellent variety.

Fmovies: First let me say that this is my frist movie by the director. I have not seen El Topo, or any of his others. This is a great movie, in my opinion. Not quite perfect, but still great. It, more than any other movie I have seen, exudes the most raw emotion without saying a single word. One of the movies characters is a deaf mute. There is hardly any dialogue, but it is all the better without it. It oozes the emotion that it needs to pass by through camera work, style, and acting.

The story is not your normal story, and in fact is a bit creepy. I will not tell you one single part of it, because I only knew very little going in to see it. But, let me tell you that it is not for the weak of mind or heart. But, the emotion of the movie is completely there, and I highly recommend this to the people who don't mind thinking to be slightly scared. And this is a movie that doesn't feel it has to explain everything away, and so is all the better for it.

9/10

The eerie atmosphere, and alien characters to every day life, draws those who are artistic and learners. The character development and strange situations will keep you glued to the set.

Santa Sangre means `Blood of the Saint'. The saint is a young virgin that a young Fenix sees his Mom worshiping in a strange cult like church. It is explained that this saint was an abused girl that got her arms cut off. This all takes place in a circus, with clowns as stand-ins and musicians playing music wherever Fenix goes. There is a very surrealistic scene when the Circus elephant dies of natural causes. This scene is very spectacular in how it was presented.

Later, Fenix sees his mom get her arms cut off by his father. This of course twists his mind into thinking of his Mom as a saint, but she is a very spiteful woman. This puts him in terrible situations, and he then cannot distinguish between unnecessary death and natural death. They make money when he is older by being his Moms arms during performances.

At any point in the movie, you really cannot tell what is real and what are insane delusions. It will not be reveled until the last few minutes of the film, which will surprise you.

Not too bloody if you get the blockbuster version. You can watch this, or watch some guy hurting himself while falling down funniest home videos, so I guess it's a matter of taste.

Santa Sangre fmovies. This is a startling work, a truly artistic masterpiece, which did achieve some mainstream recognition for Jodorowoski but not what the film deserved. Filled with unsettling images, grotesque displays of violence and sexuality, and subtle but comic references, Santa Sangre is Jodorowoski's most coherent work. It is also a thoroughly artistic work, with a greater emphasis on representation than drama or morality. If you have not seen this movie, rent it. You will not soon forget it whatever your final evaluation might be. Too bad its not available on DVD (hint).

This is truly a shocking film crammed with bizarre and grotesque violence both explicit and lurking beyond the 'five-senses perception'.A sick masterpiece by a sick genius.Santa Sangre evolves into the strange universe of its creator ,Alejandro Jodorowsky.This is not at least surprising because most of his works:films (El Topo etc.),comics (The cast of the Metabarons,Inkal etc.)etc etc,are pieces of the very same puzzle,Alejandro's universe.

Santa Sangre (Holy Blood) is a pure surrealistic work.Symbols,insanity, Life and Death mix up the wild beauty of Ancient Greek Tragedy.In conclusion: this is not a film for everyone,but if you are open minded you will be able to make a step further,beyond the image itself and face the deep brutal truth of this movie.This is how it would look like a movie shot by Salvator Dali himself.

Once again, Alejandro Jodorowsky has managed to come up with a film that defies genrification even as it defies description. Santa Sangre is, on its surface, something of a suspense/horror film, but under the surface, it's a psychological drama, a black comedy, and about a hundred other genres all meshing in such perfect harmony that it's impossible to easily categorize this masterpiece.

All I can say is, if you have a chance to see this film, definitely do so. While the film is not recommended for those under 18 on the box, it is unrated. Much of the violence here is suggested rather than shown, and what nudity there is is more allegorical and less prurient. Probably not for the squeamish, but never crosses that line between the disturbing and the gross-out.