Alejandro Jodorowsky Unveils New Film and Book: Exploring Infinite Art and Cinema

On one occasion, an aging Orson Welles stood before a sparse audience in a local community center, introducing himself as an actor, writer, producer, director, magician, and a familiar voice on radio, before posing the question, “Why are there so many versions of me, yet so few of you?”

Imagine a fantasy writer envisioning a psychedelic relative of Welles, and you might picture Alejandro Jodorowsky: a calm, white-bearded figure with a sly smile, surrounded by a dedicated group of followers. Over his lifetime, Jodorowsky has taken on multiple roles—sometimes simultaneously—including those of a film director, actor, poet, puppeteer, psychotherapist, tarot reader, and fantasy author. At 96 years old, Jodorowsky reflects on his varied life, estimating he has lived “a hundred different lives” and been “a hundred different Jodorowskys,” embracing the constant transformation and rebirth in his existence. “We are different people all the time,” he muses. “I have died many times, only to be reborn. Look at me now; I am very much alive and delighted by it. Living is truly fantastic.”

Jodorowsky recently completed a two-volume monograph with Taschen titled Art Sin Fin. He views this work as another form of rebirth, though it also acts as an extensive archive, capturing the eccentric and counter-culture elements that define his career. The collection explores his brief dominance in the 70s as the “king of the midnight movie” with cult classics like El Topo and The Holy Mountain, cherished by icons such as Dennis Hopper and John Lennon. The retrospective extends beyond this, including vibrant stage performances, elaborate comic strips, and conceptual designs for ambitious projects like his long-desired adaptation of Dune that never materialized.

Curated by Jodorowsky and Donatien Grau of the Musée du Louvre, the book features a blend of visual and written content uniquely reflective of Jodorowsky’s style, filled with rich metaphors and audacious comparisons. His descriptions transform his mind into surreal images—on one page a canary bellowing like a whale, and on another, two bicycle wheels clashing like combatant dogs. Jodorowsky’s creations are provocative, occasionally bordering on the shocking, with strong themes of sexuality and mortality, yet invariably infused with an element of the absurd.

Jodorowsky’s journey began in Tocopilla, a small port town along the rugged northern coast of Chile, where he grew up as the unconventional son of a Ukrainian-Jewish merchant. “Originally, I was just a single cell in my mother’s womb,” he elaborates. “Then, from the age of seven, I was working alongside my father in our family store, a young prodigy assisting him daily. Now, here I am, the aged prodigy speaking to you.”

However, the confines of Tocopilla could not hold him. His path took him first to Santiago, then to Paris, where he studied mime under Marcel Marceau and directed Maurice Chevalier in music hall performances. His feature film debut in 1967, the surreal Fando y Lis, incited a riot at its premiere at the Acapulco film festival. “In Mexico, they wanted my life,” he recalls. “A soldier confronted me, gun pressed against my chest.”

Jodorowsky shares a portion of Art Sin Fin with his second wife, Pascale Montandon. The couple collaborates on vibrant watercolors under the joint pseudonym PascALEjandro, blending influences from Dalí and Paula Rego. Montandon also joins the conversation, occasionally stepping in to translate questions or correct her husband’s English.

“Given my age, I am nearly a century old and will soon pass away, as is the natural order of this world—and perhaps other worlds too,” Jodorowsky states. “But my wife, she should live on. She’s only in her fifties.”

“I’m 54,” Montandon interjects.

“She’s fifty,” he reaffirms. “Meaning she should have another fifty years. And she will remember me long after I’m gone.”

“You’re not gone yet,” Montandon reminds him. “And it’s possible I might depart before you. After all, no one can know for sure.”

Jodorowsky clarifies that he sees himself as an artist rather than a teacher, emphasizing that his work is not meant to convey any specific message or moral. Yet, if his varied artistic endeavors are tied to anything, it is the concept of “psychomagic,” a therapeutic approach blending Freudian psychoanalysis with elements of shamanism and tarot reading. Over the years, Jodorowsky has conducted numerous free psychomagic sessions in Paris, where he resides, offering guidance and treatment to those in need. Although he now mostly conducts his sessions over Zoom, he sometimes worries about fitting in all his appointments. “Today,” he notes, “listen to this—there are 8 million people waiting for my assistance.”

“Eight million,” Montandon echoes, not quite questioning his statement.

“Yes,” he confirms emphatically. “Eight million. It’s true.”

Among the various black-and-white photos in Jodorowsky’s collection, one captures a young man with a white-painted face, leaning into the embrace of a dark-haired woman. “My first pantomime performance in Chilean theater,” the caption explains. “At 17, made up as a 90-year-old man, experiencing an orgasm in the arms of death.”

The artist scrutinizes the photo. Today, he is older than the character he portrayed in his youth. “A different world,” he muses. “A different Jodorowsky. But perhaps, deep down, I am still the same person. Maybe it’s only the external appearance that has changed, because I inhabit a different body now.”

He frowns, shakes his head, and sets the photo aside. “Soon, I too will be in death’s embrace,” he declares. “I am prepared to die, and I will do so joyfully, with a grand orgasm. But understand this—I have always lived this way. Life, for me, is a grand adventure. We exist in an eternal now, life is action, action, action, and orgasm, and we are constantly experiencing it.”

The Eternal Canvas: Jodorowsky’s Lifelong Artistry

El Topo
“This isn’t a Western, it’s an Eastern,” Jodorowsky remarked about his 1970 cinematic venture, a surreal journey through the desert that intentionally disorients its audience. In it, Jodorowsky plays a violent gunslinger on a quest for spiritual enlightenment, accompanied by his young son, Brontis. The film caught the attention of former Beatles manager Allen Klein, who, encouraged by John Lennon, decided to finance Jodorowsky’s subsequent 1973 epic, The Holy Mountain.

Endless Poetry (main image)
“My father was a tyrant, and my mother was no different,” Jodorowsky discloses, having left Chile for Paris, never to see his parents again. In his 80s, he returned to filmmaking with two critically acclaimed magic-realist autobiographies, The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016), where he serves as a guardian angel to his younger self, even staging a scene where his father is captured and tortured by Nazis. “Some might call me the last mad artist in the world,” he reflects. “But I’m not insane. I’m merely trying to rescue my soul.”

Marseille Tarot Research
Introduced to the Tarot de Marseille by French surrealist André Breton, Jodorowsky later developed his own version of this historic tarot deck with designer Philippe Camoin. He describes the 78-card set as an “alphabet of the soul,” where each major arcana card (like the Fool, the Juggler, the Devil) represents distinct human traits. He views it not just as a divinatory tool but as a means for self-discovery and psychological healing.

Teo Jodorowsky
The untimely death of Jodorowsky’s son Teo from an overdose at 24 profoundly affected him, prompting his exploration into tarot-based psychotherapy. This personal tragedy is poignantly captured in a vibrant image by PascALEjandro, showing an acrobatic Teo riding on the Grim Reaper’s shoulders. “Joyfully, my son descends to his final resting place. I mourn,” the caption reads, penned by Jodorowsky.

The Incal
The Incal, a cornerstone of Jodorowsky’s extensive work in comics, emerged in the 1980s as a grand space opera created with artist Moebius. It follows the misadventures of John Difool (“the Fool”), a flawed private detective, in a richly imagined cyberpunk universe that has since influenced films like The Matrix and Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element. An official film adaptation, directed by Taika Waititi, is currently in the works.

Alejandro Jodorowsky: Art Sin Fin is set to be released by Taschen on February 6 and is available for pre-order now at taschen.com/en/limited-editions/film/62156/alejandro-jodorowsky-art-sin-fin/