Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 21, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection.

Some pundits along the way have said that there’s a very fine line between being a visionary and being a madman, and it may be at least arguable that no contemporary filmmaker has blurred that line so vigorously (and most likely intentionally) as has Alejandro Jodorowsky. Just listing some of Jodorowsky’s other activities in addition to his filmmaking may give some indication of both of the characteristics listed above, at least in terms of how the combination of them all being done by one person might be perceived by outsiders as indicating both visionary and mad aspects. Jodorowsky at various points in his long life (as of the writing of this review, he’s still with us at the venerable age of 91) has been a puppeteer, a composer, a mime, a writer of comics, a therapist and a self- described mystic with a penchant for magical realist and/or surrealist thinking. Jodorowky first came to at least some prominence on the global cinema scene with El Topo in 1970, though Fando y Lis, also included in this set, preceded it by two years, causing more than a bit of a scandal upon its release, including being rather quickly banned in Mexico after its debut, something that probably kept it from greater renown at the time. El Topo at least managed to screen internationally, including in New York City, where it caught the attention of none other than John Lennon, who convinced Apple executive Allen Klein to fund further Jodorowsky efforts. This set also aggregates two other films from Jodorowsky, including 1973’s The Holy Mountain (one result of Klein's financing efforts), which, like El Topo, has had a previous release on Blu-ray (more about the previous releases in the appropriate individual reviews of those titles). Bookending the never before released on Blu-ray Fando y Lis, the first feature length film from Jodorowsky, is Psychomagic, A Healing Art, Jodorowsky’s most recent effort from 2019.

Note: Those who pay attention to things like menu designs and fonts utilized, or even to the look of the copyright warnings at disc boot up may instantly recognize how these discs look like Arrow releases, with an identical boot up that is only different from an Arrow release in that it's missing the Arrow masthead. That said, in fact Arrow's own masthead does show up here on occasion with regard to some of the supplemental material. Arrow's UK division has their own The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection Blu-ray release which came out about a month or so ago. That release looks like it has Region B locked discs (I haven't received any screeners yet, and so can't confirm), but otherwise the releases seem to be identical.

Richard Peña, the former program director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center who has shown up pretty regularly as the moderator of various interviews included as supplements on a variety of Blu-ray releases put out by Cohen Media Group, is on hand in supplements for the three older films in this set with various introductory comments. In the case of this release, he more or less advises viewers who are unfamiliar with Jodorowsky in general and Fando y Lis in particular not to worry too much about trying to “make sense” out of it all. Jodorowsky’s surrealist tendencies are completely on display throughout this odd “quest” film, with Peña pointing to the repeated image of a piano on fire (including some moments with a pianist sitting there playing the instrument as it burns) as a prime example.

While Peña emphasizes Jodorowsky's interest in and stage exploits involving surrealism, Fando y Lis in some ways may resemble a kind of sibling to surrealism, theater of the absurd. Fando y Lis, like all of the "fictional narrative" films in this set ( Psychomagic, A Healing Art is its own "beast"), follows a quest of sorts, in this case for a mythical place called Tar, which might be thought of as either Shangri-La or Utopia. The entire film is comprised of vignettes documenting the journeys of Fando (Sergio Klainer) and Lis (Diana Mariscal), though those travels are made difficult both due to the fact that Lis is crippled and consigned to a wheelchair, as well as to the landscapes the duo move through, which are littered with both insane amounts of rubble as well as several combative individuals.

The result is almost always striking from a visual perspective, but just as often completely confounding from a traditional narrative perspective, which is no doubt what Jodorowksy intended. It's kind of funny in a way to see this film through the prism of later, arguably even more provocative, Jodorowsky efforts within the context of how much controversy this film created in its brief and truncated original screenings. Some of Jodorowsky's images may strike some as being downright quaint when compared to some considerably more graphic imagery that suffuses his later films.

Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fando y Lis is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of abkco with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.38:1. The insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Fando y Lis was restored in 4K resolution and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 [sic] with mono audio. The original 35mm camera negative and sections of a dupe negative element were scanned in 4K resolution at OCN Digital Labs, CT. The film was graded and restored at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The original mono mix was remastered from the optical negatives at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood. Review screenings for approval were carried out at Eclair Labs, Paris.

While there may a few niggling qualms some videophiles have with this presentation, some of which probably stem at least in part from the two different source elements alluded to above, this is by and large a rather arresting looking presentation that preserves the really bizarre imagery Jodorowsky utilizes. A lot of the framings tend to be in midrange or even wide shots, and as such fine detail levels can ebb and flow, but close-ups in particular offer enough fine detail that even the downy hair on Lis' face can be spotted. There are occasional blemishes, all minor in my estimation, that will be spotted by eagle eyed viewers, and there are also fluctuations in contrast and especially clarity and grain structure, which I am again assuming stem at least in part from the differences betwen the original and dupe negatives. While not as bad as the DVD from years ago, there are still moments that look a bit washed out here, and there are some brief but recurrent anomalies both with flashes of brightness as well as a kind of odd looking horizontal rippling effect that afflicts frames from time to time.

Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fando y Lis features an LPCM Mono track in the original Spanish, though what dialogue there is can often be aphoristic, and the film's sound design relies as much on its eclectic score (which features everything from folk tunes to harpsichord) and sound effects. While narrow, the mix is surprisingly robust, as in the opening moment which melds sounds of Lis chewing on a flower petal (Lis has a thing for plants, as her name perhaps indicates, i.e., Fleur de Lys) with what sounds like crashing waves. A lot of ambient environmental sounds dot the track since so much of the film takes place outdoors.

Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Alejandro Jodorowsky


• Jodorowky Remembers Fando y Lis (1080p; 10:31) features a 2019 interview with Jodorowsky. This is in English, but comes with optional subtitles.


• An Introduction to Fando y Lis by Richard Peña (1080p; 8:54) features the Professor of Film Studies from Columbia university in a good overview, including the probable need to let any rational analyses of the film fall by the wayside.


• La Cravate (1080p; 21:20) is Jodorowsky's 1957 short culled from a Thomas Mann source called The Transposed Heads.


• La Constellation Jodorowsky (1080i; 1:26:36) is a documentary by Louis Mouchet featuring interviews with Jean 'Moebius' Giraud and Peter Gabriel. In French with English subtitles.


• Re-Release Trailer (1080p; 1:17)


• Image Galleries

  Behind the Scenes (1080p)

  
  

  Posters (1080p)

Fando y Lis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Like a number of pieces in theater of the absurd, Fando y Lis tends to be episodic and recurrent, with the same sorts of things happening over and over again. This is an odd but captivating film that may ironically strike some as being much less provocative and potentially offensive than some of Jodorowsky's later work. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplemental package outstanding. For Jodorowsky fans and the more courageous newcomer, Fando y Lis comes Recommended.