Pitched between allegory and satire; the allegory's very broad, and the satire is...very broad. Surreal imagery makes it palatable. Movies like this made metaphysics look easy, and I think that did its audience a disservice.

One real source of pleasure for me in El Topo was seeing established Mexican-industry actors dating back to the 30s and 40s pushed way outside their comfort zone, but A J doesn't do that here; the only performer I saw that intersected with the filmic mainstream was the chimpanzee, who played opposite Tin Tan in a couple of comic-book movies in the Chanoc series.