El Topo (1970) - full transcript
El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man. El Topo (the mole) claims to be God, while dressed as a gunfighter in black, riding a horse through a spiritual, mystical landscape strewn with old Western movie, and ancient Eastern religious symbols. Bandits slaughtered a village on his path, so El Topo avenges the massacred, then forcibly takes their leader's woman Mara as his. El Topo's surreal way is bloody, sexual and self-reflective, musing of his own demons, as he tries to vanquish those he encounters.
You're 7 today.
You're a man now
Bury your first toy and the
portrait of your mother
THE MOLE
The mole is an animal that
digs tunnels underground
ln search of the sun, it sometimes
comes to the surface
When it sees the sun, it is blinded
Kill me! Kill me, please!
Who was it?
Kill me, for pity's sake!
Who was it?
Who?
Who?
- lt's the colonel
- How many?
Another five men
Where?
ln the Franciscan mission
The colonel's not selfish. He uses
women once and gives them away
The colonel said he'd kill anyone
who touches me
And who told you to?
Don't anticipate my wishes!
Sorry!
They have no souls,
but sometimes they get bored
and l throw them my leftovers
Come on, dogs! Take your
little piece!
Stop, dogs!
Kiss them on the mouth
Keep going! Kiss the other too!
Stop, dogs! Be good
These dogs like to watch
They want to see your breasts
Eat, dogs!
Who are you to hand out justice?
l'm God
No...this no! Don't do this to me!
No!
Destroy me.
Never depend on anyone
Cry little boy! Cry and
then he'll pity you
lt's bitter
Moses found water in the desert
The people couldn't drink it
because it was bitter
The water was named Marah
lt's turned sweet!
l'll call you Marah because
you're like bitter water
How will we live here?
We'll die of thirst
As the deer yearns
for water,
so my soul invokes you, Lord
My soul is thirsty for God,
for the living God
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
- Do you love me?
- Yes
Me no. For me to love you,
you've got to be better
The four masters of the gun
live in this desert
l must find them and kill them
The desert is round. To find the 4
masters we must move in a spiral
l can't go on, let's go back!
l always end up where l started
We'll never find them
lf they're masters,
they'll give us a sign
Days have passed...weeks, months
- How can you still have faith?
- They're waiting for us
The sign!
Seek the light at midday. He'll
come. You must wait to see him
Like that woman
The master didn't want to fight her
The master wants to receive
you know. lt's strange...
he never receives people
without making them wait
There's an oasis behind
the dune
Your woman will wait there
Let's go
Give me the gun and the sombrero
l don't need the light. l'm blind
Count to three and try to take it
One...
two...three!
How?
l do not try to win, but to arrive
at perfect control
to not be afraid of the bullets
Shoot!
They hardly bleed. l offer no
resistance to the bullet
l let it pass through the
capillaries of my flesh
You still want to duel with me?
Yes
lt does not grieve me to kill you,
because death does not exist
l will let you shoot first
- He's superior to me
- You'll win!
Even if l won, l'd lose
l'm asking you a favour.
You must win
Don't be so honest.
Try to invent something
Lay a trap. There's always
a way to win. Find it!
l told you! l expected it,
l'm proud of you!
There are only 3 masters left
l know where the 2nd lives. lf you
let me come with you, l'll show you
He's here, wait for me
We were waiting for you.
The cards say this about you
You're falling and you'll
fall anyway
The deeper you fall,
the higher you'll get
Traitor, coward, murderer!
God's will is unexplainable
My son and l must respect you
You can duel with him
Cross!
The duel starts right now
You and my son can shoot
when you want
Dead!
Technically you're dead
Now l want to talk to the dead one
Follow me
First of all, l made things
out of copper
and l strengthened my fingers
Now l make delicate objects
l'm so strong that l can play
with this shape
without breaking it
Shoot!
A clean, delicate shot
destroys an accurate one
You shoot to find yourself
l do it to shoot
Perfection is to lose yourself
and to lose yourself you need
to love
You don't love. You destroy, kill
and no one loves you
Because when you think you're
giving, you're really taking
l've given myself to her.
l told her everything
She's inside me
Her infinite love fills me
What l do and say is ordered
and blessed by her
l hate all that is mine
because it distances me from
her divine presence
Two are better than one,
because if they fall, one will
lift up his companion
When there is only one,
there is no one to lift him up
When l made this, l didn't
think it would be useful
l just tried to make it the best
way l possibly could
Take your gun again
My son wants to give you
one last chance
PROPHETS
l don't want you to go near him
Why do you follow us? Go away!
We don't need to take your gun
away. We trust you
You have a flute! We'll get to
know each other through music
You're disgusted at yourself.
You don't want to betray any more
Now you want to respect the law
Some give flowers.
Some, precious objects
You bring me your life as a gift
You are not afraid to die
This is why you are a
dangerous enemy
When you were 7 metres
from the rabbit run,
my rabbits started to die.
Now they're nearly all dead
Now that you're here,
not one will be left alive
l made it.
Feel how fine it is...
You can fire a shot
lt is all that l need.
A fatal shot
Shoot!
Which did you kill and
which did l kill?
This is yours: shot in the head.
This is mine: shot in the heart
The heart...the head...
A changing of places
lt is now time
Too much perfection is a mistake
You won! Don't leave me!
You'll be the best and l'll help
you! There's only one left!
Want to duel with me?
How will l do that?
l have no gun
l bartered the pistol for a
butterfly net
l must fight you with my hands
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
See? My net is more powerful
than your bullets
lf you shoot again, l'll reflect
the bullet directly into your heart
How can you win if l don't duel?
l have nothing
Even with a trap you couldn't have
taken anything from me
Yes, actually,
l could have taken your life
l don't care about my life
Now l'll show you
You lost
You won! You won!
You're the best!
l was poured out like water
and my bones were all detached
lt's like my heart shrivelled
inside my guts
My tongue cleaved to my palate
And they put me in the dust
of the dead
My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from
my salvation
and from the voice of my lament?
My God, l call you by day
but you do not answer
l call by night and there is
no peace
Him or me
Show me your way,
your paths
Show me the way
of your truth
Because you are the God of my
salvation and l waited for you
You will show your sinners the way
You will put the humble
on the path of justice
PSALMS
l am not a god.
l am a man
How long have l been here?
When you got here,
l hadn't been born
l looked after you from infancy.
The old woman says you'll free us
Come
We've been prisoners in this
cave for many years
That's the only exit. To get there
we need to scale the walls
and many days
Outside there's the mountain
and a big village
They won't help us get out
We're deformed from continuous
incest. We disgust them
lt was difficult to bring me here.
Why did you do it?
The old woman knows
She sent us to find you.
Now she wants to see you
This is not my face!
This is not me!
l'll find money and dig a
tunnel in the mountain
The tunnel will unite the
village and this cave
When the tunnel is finished,
you'll finally be free
You'll get out of here
This is the big village
We should beg
See to my curls!
Paint my nails!
The cream
Fan
This pervert is looking
at my legs!
Help! He's forcing himself
on me!
You saw him kiss
me roughly!
Disgusting slave! How dare you?
Help, he's raping us!
Don't let him get away! Murderer!
Bring him here! Rapist!
You're really degenerate!
Get him! Get him!
Murderer! Murderer!
You think it's worthwhile for my
people to come here?
This is worse than the other
l'll keep digging
How many metres have we dug now?
There's more to go!
We've lost our public
Hey, monsters! Monsters, come here!
Come on, come here!
We'll pay you well
They're both dead
- Who died first?
- This one
He's the champion!
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
God loves us! God protects us!
lf we have faith, nothing
can happen to us
We must gamble with God
The stake is death
and who doesn't believe
in God will die!
Protect us, Lord
- Miracle!
- Miracle!
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Miracle!
Protect us, Lord
Miracle!
Don't tremble, the safety's on
- Miracle!
- lt's a miracle!
Miracle!
APOCALYPSE
No one will come any more.
The circus is over. l'll go too
Come in!
As is the custom,
the League of Worthy Women,
after the monthly inspection,
congratulates your husbands
Everything's decent here
Want to earn money?
Come with me
Go down there
Come
Do the kissing number!
Now we want to see the sequel!
Come on, strip off!
l love you! They don't exist!
There's only you here
We're alone! Love me, please!
We can buy the dynamite and
keep on digging the tunnel
Why are you hiding?
l'm ashamed. Now l disgust you
and you'll abandon me
No, come with me
Tell him to marry us
Go on!
We're getting married, Father
No, you can't kill him!
He hasn't finished his work!
...and he promised to dig
the tunnel so we can be free
l'll wait till you finish the work.
Then l'll kill you
But l'll watch you day and night
so you won't escape
You'll never finish!
You're taking too long
lf you want us to hurry,
help us to finish
And if you want to finish
quickly...
help us to beg
This rock's too hard.
We've hit it a thousand times!
Only 1 ,000 times?
The pain must be unbearable
My body feels pain. Not l
You'll never do it. That's enough!
You've done it!
- You've done it!
- Don't tell him! l'm not ready!
l can't kill my master
You're a man now
Bury your first toy and the
portrait of your mother
THE MOLE
The mole is an animal that
digs tunnels underground
ln search of the sun, it sometimes
comes to the surface
When it sees the sun, it is blinded
Kill me! Kill me, please!
Who was it?
Kill me, for pity's sake!
Who was it?
Who?
Who?
- lt's the colonel
- How many?
Another five men
Where?
ln the Franciscan mission
The colonel's not selfish. He uses
women once and gives them away
The colonel said he'd kill anyone
who touches me
And who told you to?
Don't anticipate my wishes!
Sorry!
They have no souls,
but sometimes they get bored
and l throw them my leftovers
Come on, dogs! Take your
little piece!
Stop, dogs!
Kiss them on the mouth
Keep going! Kiss the other too!
Stop, dogs! Be good
These dogs like to watch
They want to see your breasts
Eat, dogs!
Who are you to hand out justice?
l'm God
No...this no! Don't do this to me!
No!
Destroy me.
Never depend on anyone
Cry little boy! Cry and
then he'll pity you
lt's bitter
Moses found water in the desert
The people couldn't drink it
because it was bitter
The water was named Marah
lt's turned sweet!
l'll call you Marah because
you're like bitter water
How will we live here?
We'll die of thirst
As the deer yearns
for water,
so my soul invokes you, Lord
My soul is thirsty for God,
for the living God
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
- Do you love me?
- Yes
Me no. For me to love you,
you've got to be better
The four masters of the gun
live in this desert
l must find them and kill them
The desert is round. To find the 4
masters we must move in a spiral
l can't go on, let's go back!
l always end up where l started
We'll never find them
lf they're masters,
they'll give us a sign
Days have passed...weeks, months
- How can you still have faith?
- They're waiting for us
The sign!
Seek the light at midday. He'll
come. You must wait to see him
Like that woman
The master didn't want to fight her
The master wants to receive
you know. lt's strange...
he never receives people
without making them wait
There's an oasis behind
the dune
Your woman will wait there
Let's go
Give me the gun and the sombrero
l don't need the light. l'm blind
Count to three and try to take it
One...
two...three!
How?
l do not try to win, but to arrive
at perfect control
to not be afraid of the bullets
Shoot!
They hardly bleed. l offer no
resistance to the bullet
l let it pass through the
capillaries of my flesh
You still want to duel with me?
Yes
lt does not grieve me to kill you,
because death does not exist
l will let you shoot first
- He's superior to me
- You'll win!
Even if l won, l'd lose
l'm asking you a favour.
You must win
Don't be so honest.
Try to invent something
Lay a trap. There's always
a way to win. Find it!
l told you! l expected it,
l'm proud of you!
There are only 3 masters left
l know where the 2nd lives. lf you
let me come with you, l'll show you
He's here, wait for me
We were waiting for you.
The cards say this about you
You're falling and you'll
fall anyway
The deeper you fall,
the higher you'll get
Traitor, coward, murderer!
God's will is unexplainable
My son and l must respect you
You can duel with him
Cross!
The duel starts right now
You and my son can shoot
when you want
Dead!
Technically you're dead
Now l want to talk to the dead one
Follow me
First of all, l made things
out of copper
and l strengthened my fingers
Now l make delicate objects
l'm so strong that l can play
with this shape
without breaking it
Shoot!
A clean, delicate shot
destroys an accurate one
You shoot to find yourself
l do it to shoot
Perfection is to lose yourself
and to lose yourself you need
to love
You don't love. You destroy, kill
and no one loves you
Because when you think you're
giving, you're really taking
l've given myself to her.
l told her everything
She's inside me
Her infinite love fills me
What l do and say is ordered
and blessed by her
l hate all that is mine
because it distances me from
her divine presence
Two are better than one,
because if they fall, one will
lift up his companion
When there is only one,
there is no one to lift him up
When l made this, l didn't
think it would be useful
l just tried to make it the best
way l possibly could
Take your gun again
My son wants to give you
one last chance
PROPHETS
l don't want you to go near him
Why do you follow us? Go away!
We don't need to take your gun
away. We trust you
You have a flute! We'll get to
know each other through music
You're disgusted at yourself.
You don't want to betray any more
Now you want to respect the law
Some give flowers.
Some, precious objects
You bring me your life as a gift
You are not afraid to die
This is why you are a
dangerous enemy
When you were 7 metres
from the rabbit run,
my rabbits started to die.
Now they're nearly all dead
Now that you're here,
not one will be left alive
l made it.
Feel how fine it is...
You can fire a shot
lt is all that l need.
A fatal shot
Shoot!
Which did you kill and
which did l kill?
This is yours: shot in the head.
This is mine: shot in the heart
The heart...the head...
A changing of places
lt is now time
Too much perfection is a mistake
You won! Don't leave me!
You'll be the best and l'll help
you! There's only one left!
Want to duel with me?
How will l do that?
l have no gun
l bartered the pistol for a
butterfly net
l must fight you with my hands
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
See? My net is more powerful
than your bullets
lf you shoot again, l'll reflect
the bullet directly into your heart
How can you win if l don't duel?
l have nothing
Even with a trap you couldn't have
taken anything from me
Yes, actually,
l could have taken your life
l don't care about my life
Now l'll show you
You lost
You won! You won!
You're the best!
l was poured out like water
and my bones were all detached
lt's like my heart shrivelled
inside my guts
My tongue cleaved to my palate
And they put me in the dust
of the dead
My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from
my salvation
and from the voice of my lament?
My God, l call you by day
but you do not answer
l call by night and there is
no peace
Him or me
Show me your way,
your paths
Show me the way
of your truth
Because you are the God of my
salvation and l waited for you
You will show your sinners the way
You will put the humble
on the path of justice
PSALMS
l am not a god.
l am a man
How long have l been here?
When you got here,
l hadn't been born
l looked after you from infancy.
The old woman says you'll free us
Come
We've been prisoners in this
cave for many years
That's the only exit. To get there
we need to scale the walls
and many days
Outside there's the mountain
and a big village
They won't help us get out
We're deformed from continuous
incest. We disgust them
lt was difficult to bring me here.
Why did you do it?
The old woman knows
She sent us to find you.
Now she wants to see you
This is not my face!
This is not me!
l'll find money and dig a
tunnel in the mountain
The tunnel will unite the
village and this cave
When the tunnel is finished,
you'll finally be free
You'll get out of here
This is the big village
We should beg
See to my curls!
Paint my nails!
The cream
Fan
This pervert is looking
at my legs!
Help! He's forcing himself
on me!
You saw him kiss
me roughly!
Disgusting slave! How dare you?
Help, he's raping us!
Don't let him get away! Murderer!
Bring him here! Rapist!
You're really degenerate!
Get him! Get him!
Murderer! Murderer!
You think it's worthwhile for my
people to come here?
This is worse than the other
l'll keep digging
How many metres have we dug now?
There's more to go!
We've lost our public
Hey, monsters! Monsters, come here!
Come on, come here!
We'll pay you well
They're both dead
- Who died first?
- This one
He's the champion!
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
God loves us! God protects us!
lf we have faith, nothing
can happen to us
We must gamble with God
The stake is death
and who doesn't believe
in God will die!
Protect us, Lord
- Miracle!
- Miracle!
Protect us, Lord
Protect us, Lord
Miracle!
Protect us, Lord
Miracle!
Don't tremble, the safety's on
- Miracle!
- lt's a miracle!
Miracle!
APOCALYPSE
No one will come any more.
The circus is over. l'll go too
Come in!
As is the custom,
the League of Worthy Women,
after the monthly inspection,
congratulates your husbands
Everything's decent here
Want to earn money?
Come with me
Go down there
Come
Do the kissing number!
Now we want to see the sequel!
Come on, strip off!
l love you! They don't exist!
There's only you here
We're alone! Love me, please!
We can buy the dynamite and
keep on digging the tunnel
Why are you hiding?
l'm ashamed. Now l disgust you
and you'll abandon me
No, come with me
Tell him to marry us
Go on!
We're getting married, Father
No, you can't kill him!
He hasn't finished his work!
...and he promised to dig
the tunnel so we can be free
l'll wait till you finish the work.
Then l'll kill you
But l'll watch you day and night
so you won't escape
You'll never finish!
You're taking too long
lf you want us to hurry,
help us to finish
And if you want to finish
quickly...
help us to beg
This rock's too hard.
We've hit it a thousand times!
Only 1 ,000 times?
The pain must be unbearable
My body feels pain. Not l
You'll never do it. That's enough!
You've done it!
- You've done it!
- Don't tell him! l'm not ready!
l can't kill my master