Phoenix was born into a circus family. His father Orgo was a knife thrower, and his mother Koncha was an acrobat. One day, a woman saw Orgo meeting a young tattooed woman. In a fit of jealousy, Koncha threw acid in her husband’s face. In revenge, he cut off both of his wife’s hands, and then cut his throat. All would be fine, but it happened in front of the little Phoenix. Naturally, the boy ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

Many years later, he was released and settled with his armless mother. Phoenix sits at home all day, helping his mother prepare food and trying to invent a formula for invisibility. As the memories of his childhood begin to visit Phoenix, a series of brutal murders begins in the city.

4k movies reviews
“I want from cinema what others demand from psychological drugs … Movies, as I understand them, are the keys to expanding consciousness.” (c) Alejandro Jodorovsky.

A mystery disguised as a thriller, horror, psychological drama … Christ the Phoenix as a killer trying to free himself from his mother. Underneath a simple plot, complex occult symbolism.

Probably the simplest (for this director, it sounds crazy), but this is no less brilliant film of Jodorovsky.

The psychoanalytic story of a serial killer was enthusiastically received by critics, was shown in many countries, including Russia, and became, perhaps, the most popular film by Khodorovsky, again, not least due to its external (!) Simplicity and accessibility for the mass audience, which by no means to say about “Mole” and “Sacred Mountain”.

I will try to say what this masterpiece is about, if, of course, it is possible. Primarily about finding redemption on many levels. The film is like a sophisticated psychoanalysis. The moral (main) of the film that I saw is as follows: using the example of Phoenix, the director came to the conclusion that Phoenix himself (and maybe the entire criminal society) can atone for his sins. People do not kill because of violence, but because of insanity!

To tell something, in general, is useless. It is a must see if you consider yourself a thinking person. But I would like to draw attention to Axel Khodorovsky (Phoenix). I don’t know what his father did to him. Hypnotized (as Herzog did with his actors) or whatever. I do not know. But the result is simply amazing – an ingenious role. Not an earthly role.

I still think Mole is the best film by Jodorowski that I have seen. (True, I did not look at the sacred mountain). But about it a little later, I will review it soon.

Masterpiece. I will not speak of a great director. Do you know why? Note that Khodorovsky is not my favorite director, he is one of my favorites. But I will say purely subjectively. Jodorovsky’s talent and power of directing is higher than that of Kubrick, Chaplin, Fellini, Tarkovsky, Bunuel, Eisenstein. Higher than my top favorites, Lynch and Jarmusch. Alejandro Jodorowski is the second director in the history of Cinematography. The first is Orson Welles. I do not say Great. I say – LEGEND! And it doesn’t matter that she’s alive.

Few facts.
– The script was written by Khodorovsky for 6 years.
– The idea arose from Alejandro’s own relationship with his mother.
– The film is based on real events. The prototype for the protagonist was Gojo Cardinas.
– Denis Hopper was planned for the role of father, but he refused, citing a small fee. After that, Khodorovsky ceased to consider him his friend.
– The producer was Claudio Argento.
– Blanca was holding a member of Axel X in her hands all the time, when he “portrayed” her hands.
– The film starred not only Axel H., but all of his brothers. (3 or 4)
– The people who fought over elephant meat are real hungry people.
– Down kids are real downs.
– The cocaine that the children were sniffing is not real, it’s sugar.
– The film was filmed on the so-called “dangerous” streets. The district of prostitutes is real.
– A man without an ear was really, without an ear. (Did the director spotted this in “Blue Velvet”?
– Jodorowski himself admitted that the influence of horror films is noticeable in the film. Namely “The Invisible Man”. But he added that he beat the finds in his own way.
– The scene of the elephant’s funeral was a personal goodbye to the setbacks associated with the movie “Tusk”.
– The knife thrower was real, the best in Mexico. The scene was filmed twice. The actresses were in a panic.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (58.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)

Subtitles
English SDH.