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Plot Summary
A young man is confined in a mental hospital. Through a flashback we see that he was traumatized as a child, when he and his family were circus performers: he saw his father cut off the arms of his mother, a religious fanatic and leader of the heretical church of Santa Sangre ("Holy Blood"), and then commit suicide. Back in the present, he escapes and rejoins his surviving and armless mother. Against his will, he "becomes her arms" and the two undertake a grisly campaign of murder and revenge.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
85%- Reviews Counted: 39
- Fresh: 33
- Rotten: 6
- Average Rating: 7.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Mr. Jodorowsky offers a very polished game of interpretation. His eccentric film relies on the viewer's willingness to play along.
Fresh: Visionary and haunting, Santa Sangre is a mixture of blood poetry and gobbledygook that keeps springing astonishingly to life.
Fresh: A mishmash of religious and Freudian symbolism amid torrential bloodshed topped with Fellini flourishes.
Rotten: What Jodorowsky lacks is a sense of humor, in the absence of which his films turn ludicrous.
Customer Reviews
A little different, but very enjoyable
Watched this at film camp with a bunch of friends during some down time. Now I'm probably a bit biased because I had seen Alejandro Jodorowsky's other film The Holy Mountain a few days before, which was the absolute strangest thing I've ever sat through. In comparison, this film was almost mainstream and therefore I enjoyed it a lot.
I'm not going to lie, for the average viewer this movie might be unorthodox and strange. But if you look past the oddities, you'll find a beautiful, enchanting story. It has some elements that are almost fairy tale-like. It's an unusual tale, but the symbolism is fantastic. Not to mention the cinematography, which is gorgeous in a non-traditional way. If you rent it and are tempted to turn it off in ten minutes, just hold on. You have to see the whole movie to really understand the director's vision.
Some might classify this as an "art film". I guess that's correct, but I just want to say that in a time when most filmmakers are simply adapting musicals, books, superheroes, and even toys to create their next blockbuster, it's great to see some originality in an industry that sorely needs it. Good job, Alejandro!
Great movie
.... and I want tp buy it. HD of cause!
Let me pay you, let me give you my bloody $20!
And even more I wanna buy El Topo!
Strange and unusual in a good way.
This is a classic Jodorowski. If you like movies that are different and outside of the cookie cutter mold, you'll like this. If you're really brave look for The Holy mountain as well.
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