he made". The film blends Jodorowsky's personal history with metaphor, mythology and poetry, reflecting the director's view that reality is not objective but rather a "dance" created by our imaginations: "The story of my life is a constant effort to expand the imagination and its limitations, to capture its therapeutic and transformative potential... An active imagination is the key to such a wide vision: it looks at life from angles that are not our own, imagining other levels of consciousness superior to our own". Jodorowsky has expressed his ambivalence towards the film industry and its focus on making money and claimed he did not want to "make money but rather lose money" in the making of this film, asking for it to be funded purely through donations. Release The film screened in The Directors' Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2013. It received a standing ovation. The trailer was released on May 18, 2013. Reviewers remarked on its similarity to Jodorowsky's previous work and the influence of Federico Fellini's films. Jodorowsky was planning for the film’s "international premiere" on June 7, 2013, to take place in the town of Tocopilla, where much of the film was set and shot. The film had its US debut at the South by Southwest festival in March 2014. Critical reception The Dance of Reality received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes currently indicates that 94% of 63 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus says, "This long-overdue return from Alejandro Jodorowsky finds him just as overflowing with imagination -- and heart -- as fans have come to expect." The film currently also holds a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 21 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Michael Atkinson of LA Weekly felt that "The Dance of Reality may be Alejandro Jodorowsky's best film". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film an "arresting spectacle," that was "swathed in surreal mythology dream logic and instant day-glo legend, resembling Fellini, Tod Browning, Emir Kusturica, and many more." Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune wrote, "At more than two hours, The Dance of Reality unquestionably has its longueurs, but on balance it is alive with enough images and ideas for several movies—as if Jodorowsky were afraid he might have to wait