Overview
A surreal journey into the memories of childhood and the complexities of family dynamics.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- surreal
- nostalgic
- tender
- arthouse film night
- surreal cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Jodorowsky's imaginative, emotionally open return to filmmaking while noting that its extended runtime and loose surrealism can become tiring.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Old Alejandro returns to Tocopilla and reshapes his family history through dream logic, illusion, and mystical metaphor.
The childhood memoir is filled with dream-like sequences, New Age metaphors, religious insights, and day-glo legend.
Jaime's authoritarian demands to make a man of his son shape the central childhood conflict.
The director returns to coastal Tocopilla, whose Chilean desert landscape anchors the nostalgic memoir.
Films like The Dance of Reality, and why
Amarcord
surreal autobiographical drama, theatrical imagery, and emotionally direct family mythology
The Tin Drum
eccentric childhood memoir, fantastical embellishment, and bittersweet family dynamics
The Holy Mountain
magical autobiographical storytelling, political undertones, and heightened visual imagination
Santa Sangre
surreal family drama, mystical symbolism, and Latin American magical-realist atmosphere
Movie Details
- Director
- Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Release Date
- 2013-06-19
- Runtime
- 130 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (212)
Cast
- Brontis Jodorowsky
- Pamela Flores
- Jeremias Herskovits
- Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Bastián Bodenhöfer
- Andrés Cox
- Adan Jodorowsky
- Axel Jodorowsky
- Alizarine Ducolomb
- Sergio Vargas
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Dance of Reality about?
- A visionary filmmaker reimagines his harsh Chilean childhood as a tender, surreal family myth of memory, authority, and forgiveness.
- What is The Dance of Reality like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Dance of Reality as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Dance of Reality violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Dance of Reality as mild.
- What did critics think of The Dance of Reality?
- Critics broadly praised Jodorowsky's imaginative, emotionally open return to filmmaking while noting that its extended runtime and loose surrealism can become tiring.
- Which films are like The Dance of Reality?
- Films with a similar feel include Amarcord, The Tin Drum, The Holy Mountain, and Santa Sangre.
- How long is The Dance of Reality?
- The Dance of Reality runs 130 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Dance of Reality?
- In United States, The Dance of Reality is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store.
