Cold Open · Essay · feb 23, 2023

The Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky

To mark the 50th anniversary of The Holy Mountain — and the nationwide return of three Jodorowsky classics to Dutch cinemas — hosts Tom, Kiriko, and Hugo sit with the transgressive, spiritually overloaded cinema of one of the 20th century's most unclassifiable filmmakers. What did the counter-culture actually want from cinema, and did Jodorowsky deliver it? What does it mean that this spirit — of film as initiatory experience — has largely disappeared from mainstream filmmaking? And is it gone, or simply waiting for the right moment to return?

By Elliot Bloom

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s mystical magnum opus The Holy Mountain, three classics by the controversial Chilean surrealist return to cinemas in the Netherlands nationwide. With Sophie replacing producer Elliot, who will be traveling the world for a while, our hosts Tom, Kiriko, and Hugo discuss the impact of 60s and 70s transgressive cinema, the heritage of the counter-culture, where the provoking works of Jodorowsky fit in, and if the spirit of those times and their cultural expressions live on in our current cinematic culture.

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