Alejandro Jodorowsky explains his scandalous 1968 film that caused riots to break out in Mexican theaters.
Fando Y Lis, the Spanish-language, black-and-white surreal feature film debut by the controversial director appears in the newly released box set of “The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky.”
The Story of Fando Y Lis
Based on a play by Fernando Arrabal, two child-like adults Fando (Sergio Klainer) and Lis (Diana Mariscal) travel through a ruined city and freak-filled desert in search of the mythical city of Tar where Lis’s paralysis will be cured and all their dreams will come true. Despite his promises of devotion to her and commitment to pushing Lis’s cart during the journey, Fando reveals his sadistic nature through a series of perverse experiments to see how much she loves him and how much he loves her.
They encounter a pianist at a burning piano (in an homage to surrealist painter Salvador Dali), a group of drag queens, a dominatrix, a degenerate doctor and his blind patient, a band of handicapped drifters, and other assorted ”monsters” as they seek their destination. This physical quest in search of enlightenment – which is thwarted by corrupt politicians, religious leaders, strangers, neighbors, lovers, friends, and family – foreshadows Jodorowsky’s 1970 cult classic, El Topo, credited as being the first midnight movie.
Surreal Film Caused Riots in Mexico
The 2006 commentary included on the DVD explains the director’s frequent use of symbolism throughout the film and his fascination with monsters, i.e., people who look or act outside of the norm. Jodorowsky embraces real people, friends, and family rather than actors in many of the roles. In the commentary, he explains unusual filming conditions such as mosquitoes biting his naked actors at a car junkyard, Mexican censors spying on the production, his dislike of the Fando character (and actor) and his adoration of the Lis character (and actor).
Jodorowsky also reveals specific scenes that caused the infamous Mexican riots during initial screenings of Fando Y Lis. He says that audiences were disturbed by the scene of a man defiling a baby doll, an extended scene where Fando and Lis frolic in a real children’s cemetery, and when a doctor drinks Lis’s blood from a goblet. However, the scene that caused the most trouble for Jodorowsky (including death threats) was another extended scene in which grotesque elderly women play cards and bid with canned peaches in order to win sexual favors from a young man.
In his defense, the director says in the commentary that his art is not meant to be philosophical, but that his symbolic use of people and objects speaks on a soul-to-soul level with the audience. He admits that he was never willing to compromise on his vision and would prefer an audience of only three people for a film he wanted to make, rather than a full house for a film in which he compromised.
- Fando Y Lis
- Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Movie Run Time: 96 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated (Contains strong sexual content, nudity, and graphic violence)
- DVD Box Set Bonus Features: El Topo (feature-length film plus on-camera interview with Jodorowsky), The Holy Mountain (feature-length film plus on-camera interview with Jodorowsky). The set also includes soundtracks for El Topo and The Holy Mountain, La Cravate (Jodorowsky’s first short film) and La Constellation Jodorowsky (a 90-minute documentary on the life and art of the filmmaker). Subtitles in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French.
