A poor wanderer referred to only as "The Thief" finds a spiritual guide in an alchemist who instructs him to round up seven figures of power and leave their material goods behind to embark on a quest for immortality.
Alejandro Jodorowsky is a Chilean-born writer-director who began his career in theatre, spent time in Paris working with legendary mime Marcel Marceau, and eventually moved to Mexico City to concentrate on surrealistic filmmaking. Studies of Zen Buddhism and other mystic/religious texts informed his breakthrough work El Topo, which became one of the first "midnight movies", and its cult status was solidified by high-profile supporters such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The Holy Mountain went even further into psychedelia and abstract imagery, a culmination of Jodorowsky's beliefs and explorations.
Pre-production on the film included several months of the main cast members undergoing exercises drawn from a host of spiritual practices, including Zen, Sifu, yoga, the Kabbalah, and the I Ching. In addition, Jodoroswky and his actors experimented with LSD and mushrooms before and during shooting.
Jodorowsky not only wrote and directed the film, but also had a hand in the set design, costumes, editing, and music (along with jazz fusion artist Don Cherry). While the film was shot entirely in Mexico, the dialogue is mostly in English as it was designed for the international market. Former Beatles manager Allen Klein put up most of the money for the film, which despite its ambitious scope was made for half the proposed budget.
The film works not only as satire and social commentary but also as a new-age inspirational doctrine, alternating between amusing depictions of militaristic industries and cultural decadence as well as a celebration of altered perspectives and anti-etablishment thinking.
Because of a dispute regarding a follow-up feature, The Holy Mountain and El Topo were pulled from circulation by Klein (who owned the rights to both films) and not seen for almost 30 years. Jodorowsky would only direct a few more features during this time, and as of this date is still working on a new project. He has also spent much of his time lecturing about the arts and self-actualization in Paris, where he now lives.
Running time is approx. 1 hr, 50 min.
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