Navigation

Mondo Magic (1975)

Directed By: Alfredo Castiglioni Angelo Castiglioni Guido Guerrasio
Narrated by: Mac Mauro Smith

Coming in the middle of the Mondo Movie craze, this sometimes fascinating, sometimes rather dull offering from the Castiglioni's (who would later do the even more graphic "Last Savage" and "Last Savage 2" aka "Shocking Africa") concentrates on various tribal practices, mostly in Africa, The Amazon and The Philippines.

Footage of a ferryboat in Africa, strangely backed by a version of "When I Child is Born" (but don't worry you won't have to endure scenes of a naked Johnny Mathis doing a fertility dance), opens the film before we move to an African tribe.
The overly pretentious, but at least respectful, narration tells us of the nobility of the tribe and their ancient rituals as we see the natives wash themselves with cow urine (to keep off the insects) and bond with their livestock (with bizarre scenes of men blowing into cows vaginas).
Much naked dancing and wrestling later, a lot in slow motion to show the myriad jiggling Male genitals, we see the tribe teach the children learn target practice spears. This leads to the first shocking footage where we see the men hunt down a buffalo, a giraffe and an elephant. The elephant death is the hardest to watch, as the mighty beast is pin cushioned with spears until it falls to the ground where it is butchered. No detail is spared as the tribesmen cut up the animal and crawl through the huge mounds of offal.
We then see holes punctured in the necks of cows (that later heal up) so their blood can be collected and drunk by the tribe as the Narrator gets all mystical on us with "Their lives flow in the eternal now".

We then move to The Amazon. The men in the tribe tie their genitals up to their belts and this open approach to sex is detailed by open foreplay in front of others and the men taking numerous Wives.
The tribes care for the animals is shown to us by footage of a Woman breast feeding a dog. Sometimes we are told they will feed the baby on one teat and the dog on the other!
We also get our first scenes of tribal drug taking as a powder is snorted up the nose, resulting in much spit and mucus flowing.
Scenes of roasting and eating spiders and grubs, and men being punished for adultery by having the wounded Husband, or a representative of the wounded Wife, hit them on the head with big sticks, resulting in many blooded scalps.

To The Philippines next as we are shown scenes of 'psychic surgery' (much filmed over the years) as the healers dig their fingers into various bits of the body to remove clots, cysts and damaged organs.
More drug taking is shown, this time of a cannibalistic nature as the saved bones of dead relatives are ground up, mixed with intoxicants and snorted. Mass tripping follows.

Now we switch back and forth to various Countries as the footage gets stronger.
In Africa an elephants eyes are cut out so he cannot see the men that killed him, (more animal snuff occurs throughout as chickens and boats are sacrificed in various religious and medical rituals), a Woman healer dances and then urinates on a sick girl, a spell to make the Women produce milk is cast that involves tree sap being suckled off their breasts, a man with a genital disease has to hold his penis over boiling water that contains special leaves, and a child has a rope tied to his penis which is then jerked around to cast out evil spirits.
One extreme bit of healing shows a Shaman forcing a mans severe headache from his head into his little finger where it is cut off to stop the pain. Thank goodness for paracetamol!

The sexual footage (male nudity is frequent throughout the whole film) now comes thick and fast (so to speak) as a naked girl is tied to a bed as evil spirits take hold of her body. The female conjurer rubs the girl with special talc and then sniffs the body to smell where the Demons are. Herbal smoke is then blown into her vagina and anus to drive the spirit into the head, where the girl vomits it out.
A girls virginity is checked by the elder Women to make sure she is pure by a graphically shown examination, the outer lips of a girls vulva are stretched so as secretions do not get on clothes and rugs as this fluid is considered impure.
We are shown Virgins being deflowered before they become the equivalent of a Nun. This will be their only experience of intercourse, as they will then worship the fertility Gods. Every morning they must masturbate with a giant wooden phallus to keep the fertility spirits joined to the village so as crops grow and livestock breed.
One of the strangest events to western eyes is a mass sexual celebration. Here the people of the tribe do fetish dances involving simulated sex acts. If a child looks away they are taken into the dance and simulated buggery is performed on them. This, the Narrator informs us, is to show them that they should not be afraid of sex and must embrace it.

The more typical footage of fire walking and pain endurance follows, as needles are stuck through cheeks and torsos, and a man is hung by hooks through his back and is lifted into the air. Bloody and graphic footage of mass flagellation is also unfurled before us.
A more lighthearted sequence involves tribesmen, who have been away hunting, dressing up as Women (complete with hats, earrings and necklaces) and being repeatedly whipped with long, sharp sticks.

As the film ends, scenes of civilization creeping ever forward are shown as the Narrator laments the loss of the ancient lifestyles we have just seen.

The movie does drag in places as events repeat themselves (simply in a different part of the World), but overall this is a serious, if still slightly exploitative, look at some fascinating if extreme cultures.