Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

The Dance of Reality Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 30, 2015

Nominated for SACD Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Dance of Reality" a.k.a. "La danza de la realidad" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental feature on the disc an original trailer for the film and footage from the film's premiere at Cannes. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

"You and I will have just been memories, nothing real. Something is dreaming us. Embrace the illusions. Live!'

Alejandro Jadorowsky’s first film in 23 years is a dreamy autobiographical journey that looks and feels like an unusually long and vivid dream. It makes perfect sense while it lasts, but later on one struggles to fully deconstruct its uneven parts and comprehend the many symbolic messages behind them.

The film tells the story of Jaime Jodorowsky (played by the director’s son, Brontis), who lives in the quiet coastal town of Tocopilla. Jaimie is a passionate communist who worships Stalin and a husband and father who does his best to keep the family shop, Casa Ukrania, afloat. But it hasn’t been easy. His son, Alejandrito (Jeremias Herskovits), has been a major distraction -- mostly because he hasn’t been the docile puppy Jamie wanted him to be -- and business has slowed down because the area has been flooded with various misfits and fascist sympathizers that have driven many of his regular customers away. Much to Jamie’s annoyance, his religious wife, Sara (Pamela Flores), has also stopped talking and started singing because she has come to the conclusion that her life is part of a giant never-ending opera and she has been chosen to be its biggest star.

Frustrated with life and his countrymen’s tolerance for the fascist dictator Carlos Ibanez (Bastian Bodenhofer), Jamie decides to take matters into his own hands and ensure that his son will grow older in a state where fear and oppression are viewed as things of the past. He then goes on the road with a loaded gun ready to confront Ibanez and his fascist cronies.

The tone and attitude of The Dance of Reality are as unapologetic as those of Santa Sangre, though there is a greater sense of balance in it that ultimately provides one with more time to digest the visuals. At the end, however, the two films offer a fairly similar experience -- they transport one to an alternate reality where conventional logic has been obliterated.

Whether one’s visit to Jodorowsky’s world is a pleasant one depends almost entirely on one’s willingness to temporarily follow and observe without questioning. There is a nostalgic feeling that links the floating ideas and the odd visuals in it, but attempting to comprehend the exact order in which they appear or the symbolism behind them is largely unnecessary. Indeed, the film is a like a live family album that has been assembled by Jodorowsky and then presented in a way that makes perfect sense only to him. It is easy to tell that there are missing pieces and even easier to see that there are many fabricated pieces, but this unusual album of kitschy, explicit and at times flat-out bizarre 'memories' offers an absolutely fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the most original directors of our time.

Jodorowsky and cinematographer Jean-Marie Dreujou (The Girl On The Bridge, Felix and Lola) shot the film with multiple digital cameras on location in Chile. Large parts from the film look incredibly vibrant and colorful, like intense, pulsating fragments from a vivid dream would. But some of the visuals also feel oddly sterile, even intentionally over-stylized.

The Dance of Reality Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Dance of Reality arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Shot with the Red Epic camera, the film looks strikingly crisp and vibrant. In fact, many of the outdoor static shots look like new digital photographs (see screencaptures #1, 11 and 18). Predictably, detail is fantastic and one can easily see even exceptionally small objects. Depth is equally impressive. There are only a few minor fluctuations that appear in parts of the film where light is restricted (see screencapture #5). Colors exceptionally rich and vibrant. They are also very well balanced -- no attempts have been made to significantly alter the color identity of the original footage in order to give the film a unique appearance. Image stability is terrific. Finally, there are no encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Dance of Reality Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Music is featured throughout the entire film, but the foundation of the sound design is actually a wide variety of organic sounds and noises. As a result, depth and clarity are excellent, but there are some minor dynamic fluctuations. Typically, the mass sequences are the most impressive ones, but you should not expect to hear impressive surround/dynamic movement. The dialog is very crisp, stable and always easy to follow.

The Dance of Reality Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Dance of Reality. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Cannes Intro - presented here is a short video piece from the Cannes Film Festival where Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) introduced Alejandro Jodorowsky and The Dance of Reality. After the screening of the film, the Chilean-French director quickly addresses some of the key themes in his film. In French, with optional English subtitles. (9 min).

The Dance of Reality Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Legendary director Alejandro Jodorowsky chronicles the history of his family in a most unusual way with The Dance of Reality, his first film in 23 years. Its ambiance is similar to that of Santa Sangre, but for obvious reasons the journey feels much more intimate and personal. The film was shot digitally and looks quite incredible on Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.