Fando y Lis

Jodorowsky's first film has recently been released on DVD with director's commentary and documentary, and it is looking beautiful for a 'lost' low-budget film. A frequently disjointed film, although to be honest not as much as El Topo, Jodorowsky's adaption of a bizarre stage production (filmed from memory with a one-page outline script) creates some of his most affecting images despite the low-budget. The narrative, which may seem annoying for those unaccustomed to Jodorowsky's work, actually develops in quite a mature and artistic manner; Jodorowsky shows a great understanding of his art despite the fact this was his first feature. But, as Jodorowsky himself says about this film, it is a pure work of art - i.e. a film created without any thought going into what the audience will think about it, he was filming from the heart. So it does drag in places and the pacing prevents any but the most arty of us to be excited by it. But if you liked El Topo (etc.), give it a go.

The bizarre films of counterculture icon Alejandro Jodorowsky are, without any doubt, some of the most unique cinematic experiences one can have, and, in my humble opinion, also some of the greatest. Eleven years after debuting with the great, but relatively harmless short "La Cravate" (aka. "The Transposed Heads") of 1957, Jodorowsky made his feature length debut in 1968 with this incredibly surreal, fascinating and often disturbing gem called "Fando y Lis". It is never possible to fully understand a Jodorowsky film and its 'meaning' by 100 per cent, even after multiple viewings. Even so (or therefore), there is nothing more fascinating than the cinematic World of Jodorowsky.

The adaptation of a play by Fernando Arrabal, with whom Jodorowsky had worked on stage before, "Fando y Lis" is just as surreal as the master's more famous films to follow, "El Topo" and "The Holy Mountain". This is also doubtlessly Jodorowsky's most pessimistic film and, at the time of its release, it was scandalous due to its disturbing, uncompromising and bizarre nature. When it premiered in Mexico, "Fando y Lis" caused such outrage that riots broke out, and Jodorowsky had to escape the theater secretly in order to avoid getting seriously hurt or even lynched by protesters. The film was subsequently banned by the Mexican government.

The film, which is divided into four acts, follows Fando (Sergio Kleiner) and his crippled girlfriend Lis (Diana Mariscal), who drift through post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of a mythical city named Tar. In search for Tar, a sort of paradise that has survived a 'final war' that has left the world in ruins, Fando y Lis encounter a variety of bizarre people and situations. On their journey, which is always surreal, and gradually gets disturbing, Fando becomes more and more abusive towards his innocent, helpless girlfriend... This is only a very vague description of the film, however it is hardly possible to give a proper one. As Jodorowsky' other films, "Fando y Lis" simply is a film that has to be seen. It is no wonder that this was highly controversial when it came out, and it is still disturbing today. Scenes which broach the issue of child abuse were arguably the most controversial ones, but the film includes all other sorts of controversial topics, including violence in relationships, humiliation and exploitation of the poor, cross-dressing, incest, etc., as well as the Jodorowsky-typical religious/iconoclastic symbolism. These were, of course, explosive issues for narrow-minded so-called 'moralists' at the time, and it is therefor no wonder that the film was controversial. Jodorowsky also gives his personal, very bizarre vision of the living dead in this film, which was released shortly before G.A. Romero's milestone "Night of the Living Dead". The film is often disturbing, yet is fascinating on so many other levels, sometimes beautiful and even funny, and always very, very weird (in an ingenious manner).

I cannot claim that this is a proper description of "Fando y Lis", but, as said, there is probably no such thing as a proper description of a Jodorowsky film. Jodorowsky's films are probably not accessible to everybody, and to many "Fando Y Lis" is probably even his least accessible film. This is maybe the Jodorowsky film, which is most strictly a film for Jodorowsky-fans. It may not quite as continuously overwhelming as his masterpieces "El Topo" (1970), "The Holy Mountain" (1973) and "Santa Sangre" (1989), but it certainly is a fascinating experience that is unique and awe-inspiring. To those unfamiliar with Jodorowsky's cinema, I recommend to begin your journey into this great man's cinematic world with "El Topo" or "The Holy Mountain", or even with "Santa Sangre", which is probably his most accessible film to lovers of a more conventional kind of cinema. Those who loved the previously mentioned films should definitely see this one. To lovers of surreal art-house cinema, and to my fellow Jodorowsky-fans in particular, "Fando y Lis" is an absolute must see!

The film itself barely has any narrative and many of the film's mysteries will not be revealed until the viewer watches the commentary by the director (referring to the DVD version). Nevertheless, the film is an excellent example of the abstract art cinema. Everything in the film is a symbol, the film plays itself out in symbols and imagery, it is an example of a pure attempt to tell a story without holding the audiences hand in any way. This is international art cinema at it's best, and of course I understand that not everyone will enjoy this film, fortunately this genre does not require the audience to follow along. If you put your heart into watching the film and later watch the commentary to wash away the confusion, I promise, you'll be happy you did so.

Mention the name Alexandro Jodorowsky wherever two or more film buffs are gathered and a fight is only minutes away. Some argue that he is a latter day Bunuel whose non-linear style of storytelling illustrates the falsities and hypocrasies of the ruling class while others declare that he is a talentless poseur who incorporates his own LSD inspired ramblings into his scripts and "non linear" is just a fancy way of saying his plots make no sense.

Many directors have woven the search for the Meaning of Life into their plots. Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch, Carl Dreyer and Luis Bunuel among them especially. The thing about Jodorowsky is not that his characters are looking for the meaning OF life, rather they are seeking to give meaning TO their lives. This is not wrong per se, but the problem is the characters in EL TOPO, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN and even FANDO AND LIS all find what they are seeking, and that is where the problems begin, not end. While having a goal and dedicating your life to it is laudible in itself, once you have satisfied that goal where do you go? Is Life still meaningful once you have solved Meaning of same? Not to reveal the ending of any of these movies but: There are disastrous results for everyone in these pictures once they reach their goal . . .which turns out to be not what they expected anyway.

Fando and his crippled girlfriend Lis are on a journey to the legendary magical city of Tar where, both believe, Lis will be able to walk and all their problems will be solved. Along the way they meet all sorts of odd characters (the only kind who inhabit the Jodorowsky universe) and Fando tries to leave several times only to return repentant. Jodorowsky seems to share a dislike of the upper classes of society with Bunuel. The representatives of the upper crust we encounter are narrow minded ineffectual idiots anxious to maintain the status quo because that is the only life they know and they are unwilling to accept change (think about the townsfolk in EL TOPO and compare them to the rich people in VIRIDIANA).

Tar may be no more real than El Dorado or Atlantis but as long as they are actively involved in searching for it, Fando and Lis's live's have meaning. The question ultimately put before them and, by proxy, also before us is this: Is the realisation of this goal worth it? And what happens if we arrive at the wrong answer? Of course with Jodorowsky the wrong answer is the only one anyone ever seems to reach, EL TOPO being the prime example of this. FANDO AND LIS reaches a climax which, while not wholly unexpected, is no less heartbreaking because we saw it coming.

This film was withdrawn for several film festivals worldwide and allegedly caused riots when it was shown in Brazil. It was withdrawn from distribution for many years by Jodorowsky himself but is now available on videocassette and DVD. So is this man an unsung genius? You figure it out, I'm going home.

I think Fando and Lis is a masterpiece, and one of the least pretentious films I've seen. As it's 2 am and I've just watched it, I am not in a position to be articulate, but I'll sum up my reasons in the following, then come back in a few days and further the commentary.

1. I was never once bored. 2. How the hell did the director get this made, and have all the actors and extras participate in what to them must have seemed embarrassing and weird sacrilege? 3. It was epic poetic fantasy, using creative theatrical games, fresh play of props and brilliant mise en scene - tapping into all kinds of primal emotions, fears and desires. 4. He makes good the limits of the medium. Even the high contrast black-and- white served its purpose; when Fando tries to convince Lis there are flowers, the surrounding many stones and bric-a-brac suggest flowers to the viewer. Where faded acoustics must have reigned given the budget and desert landscape, he fills the soundtrack with compelling auditory images. 5. It's a combination of Fellini's 81/2 (the bewildered director as lover) and La Strada, but even more personal; with more guts; rawer, fresher. 6. Who could deny the plaintively lovely Lis? The forlorn fawning seductress? And wasn't Fando a charming and silly chap, full of fondness for living when he wasn't cast in the role of the brute? And wasn't their chemistry palpable?

Above all, I was moved. I recognized it both as a simple love story toting the truism that love has no road map, and a cry from the wilderness. It was authentic scream of a soul to FEEL the experience of living, good and bad. Watch this film when you're lost - when your heart aches with unfulfilled desires - you want your dead parents back or the lover you mistreated. Watch it then. You'll know what the hell it's about.