Alejandro Jodorowsky La Danza De La Realidad Info
Set in the late 1930s, the film takes place in Tocopilla, a coastal desert town in northern Chile where Jodorowsky grew up. The narrative follows a young Alejandro (played by Jeremias Herskovits) as he navigates a chaotic childhood dominated by his parents and a volatile political climate. The Tyranny of the Father
Opposite this figure of severity stands Sara (Pamela Flores), Alejandro's mother. A "failed" opera singer in reality, in Jodorowsky's imaginary autobiography, she becomes a full-fledged diva who only communicates through song, her dialogue delivered in a constant, operatic soprano. She believes little Alejandro is the reincarnation of her own father, a man who died in a tragic accident, wrapping the child in a cocoon of suffocating, mystical love.
For fans of the Chilean-French visionary, this film represents a departure from the midnight-movie grit of El Topo and the esoteric heights of The Holy Mountain , moving instead toward a deeply personal, though no less surreal, exploration of childhood. The Plot: Reconstructing the Past alejandro jodorowsky la danza de la realidad
The film is an adaptation of Jodorowsky's 2001 memoir, "La danza de la realidad: psicomagia y psicochamanismo". However, in true Jodorowskian fashion, it is anything but a conventional biography. The filmmaker has repeatedly labeled the project an "autobiografía imaginaria" (imaginary autobiography).
It features his sons (Brontis, Adán, and Cristóbal) in prominent roles, including Brontis playing the role of his own grandfather. Set in the late 1930s, the film takes
Jodorowsky’s other son, Adan, composed the film's poignant and lyrical score, while his wife, artist Pascale Montandon, designed the film's extravagant costumes. The film stars Alejandro himself, his wife, his sons, and even his grandchildren, blurring the line between the film's narrative and the real-life therapy taking place before the camera. This process proved transformative. By the end of the shoot, Jodorowsky publicly stated that he had finally "realized" his father as a human being and forgiven him, effectively performing the ultimate act of reconciliation through art.
When Alejandro Jodorowsky returned to cinema in 2013 after a twenty-three-year hiatus, he didn't just release a movie; he unveiled a cinematic exorcism. La Danza de la Realidad (The Dance of Reality) is an avant-garde biographical film that blurs the lines between memory, myth, and the director's signature "Psychomagic." A "failed" opera singer in reality, in Jodorowsky's
One of the most striking sequences involves a coup d'état, but it is depicted as a bizarre carnival. The film mocks the rigidity of ideology. The father, Jaime, represents the ultimate in rigid, atheistic materialism. It is only when he is stripped of his dignity and forced to confront the spiritual (represented by a sequence involving a church and a miracle) that he becomes human.
The film’s climax crystallizes its central theme of reconciliation. After his failed assassination attempt, a broken and defeated Jaime returns to Tocopilla. In a scene of profound, bizarre tenderness, he apologizes to the townspeople, his wife, and his son. He admits his failures not as a revolutionary, but as a father. The father who once terrorized his son with brutality now bows before him, kissing his feet and asking for forgiveness. This is not a realistic depiction of a family reconciliation; it is a psychomagical act performed on film, designed to heal not only the wounds of the director but also those of the actors and, crucially, the audience.
The Actor as Ancestor: In a bold move of "cinematic psychomagic," Jodorowsky cast his own son, Brontis Jodorowsky, to play his father (Brontis's grandfather).
: He explores the idea that personal problems are rooted in one's genealogy. True fulfillment requires "casting off the phantoms" projected by parents.