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Cult Director Jodorowsky Likes Korean Films

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Surreal bizarreness, bloody violence and bold eroticism are some words invariably associated with director Alejandro Jodorowsky.

But the best way to understand him is to see his works. That had been almost impossible till now, as his works have long been unavailable here. Now two early films from the 1970s have been digitalized in high-definition (HD) format and will be released here on March 15.

The 77-year-old director came to Seoul, in time for the release of the two films.

The burning question to the director would be what he did he want to talk about through these strange cult classic films? He said he wants to change the world.

"It would be impossible to change the word totally, but my films can be a start", Jodorowsky said Tuesday during a news conference at Cine Cube theater in Kwanghwamun, downtown Seoul. "There are still many inconvenient things in the world. We eat animals, which are our teachers. Humans are changed into robots in a cement tomb-like city".

He said that life is not just for earning money and art is not a way to heal a human's pain. "For me, a film is a tool to wake my consciousness up".

Jodorowsky is well known for having directed a handful of esoteric, surreal and shocking films, especially among cult film buffs. But his 1989 film "Holy Blood" was the only film released here in 1994; almost half of it was cut out by censorship.

But the two films "El Topo" (1970) and "The Holy Mountain" (1973) will be screened full length without any cuts.

"El Topo" is a story about a gunfighter El Topo, who travels the desert with his young son. On the trip, he witnesses a village massacre. He happens to rescue a woman, with whom he sets out on a journey to kill the other gunmen, after leaving his son with a group of monks.

"The Holy Mountain" deals with the journey of a man who looks like Christ. He experiences bizarre and grotesque religious rituals and meets a mystical guide who introduces him to seven wealthy and powerful people, each of them representing a planet in the solar system.

Apart from bizarreness, Jodorowsky's films are also famous for showing director's multi-talents.

In most of his films, he worked as director, scriptwriter, lead actor and music and art director. He compared his multi-skillful jobs to those of a poet.

"It's like a poet can do anything in the world of the poem that he or she writes. It's the same as my jobs in a film", he said.

During his stay in Seoul until March 11, he will hold a workshop with the audience after the screenings of the films at Cine Cube theater today and at Film Forum in Chongno, Seoul tomorrow.

The director said that his visit to Seoul is not just for the promotion of his films, but his interest in Korean films made him want to visit Korea.

"Every night, I watch a film, usually an Asian one. I've watched a lot of Korean films. Hard to name them all, but I was surprised by Korean film's refreshing elements in their themes, acting and techniques. I think Korean films have already outdone Hong Kong and Japanese movies", he said.

He named "The King and the Clown", "Forbidden Quest", "Oldboy" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" as some of his favorite Korean movies.

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