Fando y Lis is Alejandro Jodorowsky's first feature length film. The movie is loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Alejandro Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. The film was done in black and white on the weekends with a small budget. The story of the film follows Fando (Sergio Klainer) and his paraplegic girlfriend Lis (Diana Mariscal) along a journey to find the mythical city of Tar. When the movie premiered at the 1968 Acapulco film festival, a full scale riot broke out.
| Fando & Lis | |
|---|---|
| File:Fando & luis.PNG | |
| Directed by | Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| Written by | Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| Starring | Diana Mariscal, Sergio Kleiner |
| Cinematography | Rafael Corkidi |
| Music by | Pepe Avila |
Release date | 1967 |
| Country | Mexico |
Reaction
According to Jodorowsky's commentary on the DVD, the audience was enraged at the "corrupting content" of the film. Indeed, the director found himself fleeing for his life at the festival, finally to be whisked away in a limo, which was heavily bombarded by stones thrown by the angry mob. However, the film's controversy didn't stop there. In fact, the film was banned from Mexico by the government, and Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported for the madness the film had created. One of the scenes he points out as being especially disliked involves white-haired women gambling for the chance to suck fruit pits out of a man's mouth. The commentary also states that Sergio Klainer was spreading a rumor that Alejandro Jodorowsky was a vampire, since he insisted that Mariscal's actual blood be used in a scene where a man drinks Lis' blood. At the film premiere, Diana Mariscal was noticed to be abnormally thin causing even more conjecture about vampirism. Alejandro claims she had become thin from an eating disorder.