Santa Sangre (1989) on Netflix
Fénix grows up in the Circo del Gringo, where his father Orgo throws knives and his mother Concha leads a Folk Catholic cult. Years later he is held in a psychiatric hospital.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb7.4/1025,922 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
Fénix is a child magician in the Circo del Gringo, a Mexican circus. His father, Orgo, is a knife-thrower; his mother, Concha, works as an aerialist and also heads a Folk Catholic congregation that reveres a girl who was raped and lost her arms. When a landowner moves to tear the church down, the followers resist the police and bulldozers, and a Monsignor who arrives calls the temple sacrilegious and departs. Among the performers are a tattooed lady who appears alongside Orgo, and her adopted daughter Alma, a deaf-mute who mimes and walks the tightrope; Fénix is infatuated with her. His friend Aladin, clowns and an elephant round out the troupe. Fénix leads Concha back from the demolition. Years afterward, Fénix is kept in a psychiatric hospital.
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Cast
- Faviola Elenka Tapiaas Young Alma
- Jesús Juárezas Aladin (as Jesus Juarez)
- Gloria Contrerasas Rubi
- Mary Aranzaas Fat Prostitute (as Ma. De Jesus Aranzabal)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Santa Sangre (1989)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Roberto Leoni, who co-wrote Santa Sangre, said the story probably grew out of an episode with a patient at the psychiatric hospital where he worked, and he conceived a tale in which even the worst demon cannot forget he is an angel.
- In the United States, Santa Sangre was rated NC-17 for extremely explicit violence, and an edited version was released with an R rating for graphic violence and sensuality; even so it never got a wide release, screening at only a few theaters familiar with Jodorowsky's earlier work.
