This is one of my favourite "weird" films and this was my third viewing. It is quite unlike any other film you have seen. The basic story is of a young boy who sees his father cut off his mother's arms after she has thrown acid on his nether regions (!). He is so traumatised by this that he is institutionalised until he is an adult; he then escapes at his mother's beckoning and forms a stage act with her where he stands behind her and pretends to be her arms. She also encourages him to murder any amorous female using "her" arms. The background is the circus and the assorted characters include a voluptuous tattooed lady, clowns and one of the smallest dwarfs ever. There is also the burial of a dead elephant. If all this makes it sound as if it might not be to everyone's taste, that is probably the case.
The director is chilean-born Alejandro Jodorowsky who made the film in Mexico with a local cast speaking English (I did find that having the English subtitles on helped). Jodorowsky is now in his seventies and has only made six films, three of which hardly anyone has seen. The other three: "El Topo", "The Holy Mountain" and this one are genuine cult items and well worth a look if ever you have the opportunity.
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