SANTA SANGRE – By Anthoney Baker

Title/Year: Santa Sangre, 1989

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Alejandro Jodorowsky / Mexican-Italian, 1929

Synopsis: Told through Flashbacks this story is about a young man named Fenix, who as a child while working as a child magician for a carnival watched his mother be brutally attacked by the carnivals strong man and winds up in a mental institution.

Narrative and Visual Keywords: Dreamscape, surreal, mental breakdown, alter-egos, murder, revenge, mystery, visually striking.

Characterization/ Dialogue: Minimal dialogue, English, Very dark characters who do not speak often.
Camera/lighting/editing technique: Scenes lifted directly from dreams or fables, haunting imagery of death and guilt, strong use of symbols.

Political / Social Commentary: Speaks out against organized religion, infidelity, murder and the macabre

Historical Relevance / Recognition: Originally NC-17 for Bizarre and explicit violence. Edited and re-released rated R version.

Notable Collaboration: Alejandro used his own sons for the main character. They played Fenix at different stages in his life.

Random fact, Etc.: This finl is often associated with a Horror film because of it’s bizarre violence, however, Roger Ebert as stated that “categorizing Santa Sangre is the Horror genre does this great piece of work a great disservice.

Santa Sangre is at times a hauntingly beautiful piece of cinema. Visually sticking scenes speak directly to the viewer as if you were participating in a dreamscape of the director. On scene is particular gave me chills as I watched it unfold. A circus elephant, loved by all in the circus, is dying. The main character, Fenix, cradles up to it and asks it not to die. After the elephant dies a funeral precession takes to elephant, in a gigantic casket to a deep valley at the edge of town. This valley is without a doubt symbolic to the valley as just on the other side or savage cannibals, no doubt representative to the village of the damned. As the casket is dropped into the valley the savages swarm the casket to savage it. This scene is just an example of how most scenes in Santa Sangre speak to a larger meaning.

The sound certainly helps to create atmosphere in Santa Sangre. Unfortunately, this move is about a Mexican Circus so the entire score if filled with high pitched, Flat, Brass, circus music. Imagine a mariachi band performing the bozo the clown theme. Now image it lasted two hours.

This film had amazing beautiful imagery, at times. More often than not is felt flat between major plot twists. However, for all of its shortcomings on story development I have to applaud the massively bizarre set-pieces. The Mother turned Martyr, who has no arms. The son, who goes on a killing spree because the mother controls his arms, is exceptionally strange. This film certainly got me thinking about what it possible in film making and the use of symbols and metaphors.