Scotts Cycles

A man (later identified as the thief) representing The Fool tarot card, lies in the desert with flies covering his face like excrement. He is befriended by a footless, handless dwarf representing the Five of Swords, and the pair travel into the city where they make money entertaining tourists. Because the thief resembles Jesus Christ in appearance, some locals cast an impression of his body and sell the resulting crucifixes. After a dispute with a priest, the thief eats off the face of his wax statue and sends it skyward with balloons, symbolically eating the body of Christ and offering "himself" up to Heaven. Soon after, he notices a crowd gathered around a tall tower, where a large hook with a bag of gold has been sent down in exchange for food. The thief, wishing to find the source of the gold, ascends the tower. There he finds the alchemist and his silent female assistant.

After a confrontation with the alchemist, the thief defecates into a container. The excrement is transformed into gold by the alchemist, who proclaims: "You are excrement. You can change yourself into gold." The thief accepts the gold, but smashes a mirror with the gold when shown his reflection. The alchemist then takes the thief as an apprentice.

The thief is introduced to seven people who will accompany him on his journey. Each is introduced as a personification of one of the planets, in particular the negative characteristics that are associated with his or her planet. They consist of a cosmetics manufacturer representing Venus, a weapons manufacturer representing Mars, a millionaire art dealer representing Jupiter, a war toy maker representing Saturn, a political financial adviser representing Uranus, a police chief representing Neptune, and an architect representing Pluto. The alchemist instructs the seven to burn their money as well as wax images of themselves. Together with the alchemist, the thief, and the alchemist's assistant, they form a group of ten.

The characters are led by the alchemist through various transformation rituals. Each carries a staff topped with the symbol of his or her planet; the alchemist carries a Sun staff, the thief carries a Moon staff, and the alchemist's assistant carries a Mercury staff. The ten journey by boat to Lotus Island in order to gain the secret of immortality from nine immortal masters who live on a holy mountain. Once on Lotus Island they are sidetracked by the Pantheon Bar, a cemetery party where people have abandoned their quest for the holy mountain and instead engage in drugs, poetry, or acts of physical prowess. Leaving the bar behind, they ascend the mountain. Each has a personal symbolic vision representing his or her worst fears and obsessions. Near the top, the thief is sent back to his "people" along with a young prostitute and an ape who have followed him from the city to the mountain. The rest confront the cloaked immortals, who are shown to be only faceless dummies. The alchemist then breaks the fourth wall with the command "Zoom back, camera!" and reveals the film apparatus (cameras, microphones, lights, and crew) just outside the frame. He instructs everyone, including the audience of the film, to leave the holy mountain: "Real life awaits us."

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