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This 1973 film continues the strange and surreal tradition that cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky began in his FANDO Y LIS and EL TOPO. Marrying mysticism with religious imagery, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN centers on the Thief, a man who is messianic in both appearance and ideals. He meets the Alchemist (Jodorowsky), a man who wishes to rid people of all the trappings of modern living and take them on a spiritual quest. Like Jodorowsky's other work, the plot is secondary to the visuals, which are at once bizarre and beautiful.
A Christ-like figure (the Thief) wanders through bizarre, grotesque scenarios filled with religious and sacrilegious imagery. He meets a mystical guide who introduces him to seven wealthy and powerful individuals, each representing a planet in the solar system. These seven, along with the protagonist, the guide and the guide's assistant, divest themselves of their worldly goods and form a group of nine who will seek out the Holy Mountain, in order to displace the gods who live there and become immortal.