Through Alejandro Jodorowsky's autobiographical lens, Endless Poetry narrates the years of the Chilean artist's youth during which he liberated himself from all of his former limitations, from his family, and was introduced into the foremost bohemian artistic circle of 1940s Chile where he met Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra... at the time promising young but unknown artists who would later become the titans of twentieth-century Hispanic literature.
It's grandiose, for sure, and sometimes a touch repetitive in its visual preoccupations, but charged with ceaseless curiosity and infectious energy.
Vibrantly recreating a seminal period in Jodorowsky's personal and artistic development, this bullishly played saga has enough quirky detail, audacious incident and visual panache to sweep the storyline through its less persuasive phases.
Some fine touches of madness, but haven’t we seen this before?
Endless Poetry may be uneven but it shows that Jodorowsky’s ability to startle us with both his lyricism and his perversity isn’t impaired in the slightest.
Alejandro Jodorowsky revisits his wild youth in a film that’s both indulgent and recklessly alive.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
RSS feed of Cinema reviews