El Topo

El Topo, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsy, is a spaghetti western like no other. It is a cult film and widely discussed by film viewers everywhere. This is a screenshot from a little over halfway through the film. We see El Topo, different than before. Before, he had nice dark hair and a dark beard. he had darkish skin and a sort of angry look to him at all times. Now, after we think he is dead, we see him again.

This is the shot that told me that El Topo no longer really exists. Maybe the fat profit guy was right and he really was dead at that moment when he could have been shot, I don't know, all I know is the El Topo is no longer here. Sure, this guy has the face and body of El Topo, but he is completely different otherwise. The long, frizzy blonde hair, lit up by some lights, seems to be like the mane of a Lion, king of the jungle. His beard makes him look a little like Jesus, and the paint or dust on his face gives him a radiant whiteness, and his eyes are highlighted with some eyeliner.

I think the point of this shot was to show that El Topo is now like a God. He has defeated the 4 profit guys, and has now encapsulated all of them. The black background helps to put the viewers focus only on the man we see here. He is radiant and white and seems to be calm. He has just been "born" and is being treated as some sort of profit, as he tells the people that he is just a man, not a God.

All this is just my interpretation as this movie was so confusing that I don't think anyone can really know what in the world was supposed to be happening; although that kind of made me enjoy the movie more.