Factotum - The Movie

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Sat, 2006-04-15 13:43

So I'm in Blockbusters yesterday in order to pick up Goal! to watch on a quiet Good Friuday afternoon. (And if anybody happened to be looking through our lounge window yesterday, I'd just like to make it perfectly clear that I wasn't crying, okay. I just happened to pull a hair out of my nose, that's all).

Anyway, what do I come across, but a movie of one of Bukowski's better books, my favourite in fact. I couldn't believe it! Apparently its only been released this month.

It stars a bloke called Matt Dillon, who sounds like gunslinger from the Wild West. It's not as good as the book, of course, but is a must view for all aspiring writers out there. It's true Bukowski; drink, slags, shit jobs, rejection slips, more drink.

Sat, 2006-04-15 14:01

justyn_thyme

I'd heard about that one, but I haven't seen it. Matt Dillon is a poor chose to play Bukowski. He's too much of a pretty boy. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Sat, 2006-04-15 15:43

karl_wiggins

Actually, he's surprisingly good. He's bearded, scruffy and has a laborious trudge to his walk. His women are horrible, although you can see how they may appear attractive after an afternoon on rotgut wine or bathtub gin. Hank Chinask, being the alter-ego of Bukowski, drinks, places bets, fights and finds it practically impossible to land a job that doesn't interfere with his primary interest, writing. He quits most jobs after a day or two, or an hour or two. He doesn't really intend to quit. He just wanders off. If he doesn't quit they fire him anyway. There are, however, some surprisingly funny scenes. Well worth a look at, if only from a writer's viewpoint. Before deciding to buy my books you can view the first chapters for free by visiting: www.pabd.com/2004/books/cab_driver www.pabd.com/2005/books/its_been_emotional

Sat, 2006-04-15 17:22

justyn_thyme

I'll see if I can rent it here. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Sat, 2006-04-15 17:25

ralph

There are actually two better Bukowski films. Barfly. Which has a brilliant Mickey Rourke and FGaye Dunnaway. There is also a very dark take on Tales of Ordanaurty Madness with ben Gazzarra. Should stoll be able to find them.

Sat, 2006-04-15 18:33

justyn_thyme

I've seen Barfly, which is quite good. Never saw the Gazzarra film. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Sat, 2006-04-15 19:22

mikepyro

I like Matt Dillon, especially in Crash. Might I ask, who is Bukowski? I've never heard of him. What movies of his are there. (At first I thought you were talking about the Big Lebowski) :)

Give me the beat boys and free my soul! I wanna getta lost in ya rock n' roll and drift away. Drift away...

Sun, 2006-04-16 00:24

karl_wiggins

Mike, Bukowski is a must read if you want to be a writer. I know it sounds like you're about to pick up a book by (or about) a Russian dissident, but nothing could be father from the truth. Bukowski is dirty and drunk and writes in your face, right up close where you can smell his breath and count the hairs hanging out of his nose. But he has a marvellous turn of phrase. He is a master at the art of "words". He writes about life. Sad, lonely, don't-give-a-shit life. Bukowski's prose is real and it hurts. Before deciding to buy my books you can view the first chapters for free by visiting: www.pabd.com/2004/books/cab_driver www.pabd.com/2005/books/its_been_emotional

Sun, 2006-04-16 00:53

Gilbert

Bukowski is imo, the most influential poet of the 20th century. I`ve seen "Barfly" and it was excellent, but have never heard of the other films. Have to check em out.

Sun, 2006-04-16 05:46

#10

justyn_thyme

What makes Bukowski influential is the fact that people read his work. There are no other recent American poets still being read by large numbers of people. After WW2 poetry in America become the bailiwick of the university professors who made it into this tiny little boring subject that only they found interesting. Gradually poetry disappeared from the high schools. Poets who were quite famous and read by average people, such as Frost and Sandburg, fell off the radar screen. Today in America, Bukowski is the only contemporary poet anyone could name. Some people might still remember Frost and Sandburg and some of the much older ones like Whitman and Emily Dickenson, but that's about it. Reading Bukowski encourage me to start writing. Of course, nothing is as easy as he makes it look, but everything starts somewhere. I suspect he has influenced many people in that way as well. It is interesting that I get two very divergent reactions from Brits about Bukowski. Some think he is wonderful for the reasons Karl mentions. Some react by saying: "All he does is write about himself. Big deal. If he were a real writer, he would create fiction." That strikes me as silly. If the writing is good, it's good. I don't care what the source is, but evidently some do. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Mon, 2006-04-17 00:26

#11

karl_wiggins

Playing devil's advocate James, those people may have a point. When it comes to writing I have a total lack of imagination. All I can write about is situations I've experienced. In fact I believe that if you haven't experienced it then you can't write about it with any conviction. I can write about having a gun pushed in my face and sharing a holding tank with rival gang members because I've experienced those situations, but if I hadn't I'd just be making it up, and the tale would go so overboard that it couldn't possibly be real. The best writers have actually lived their subject matter. That's authenticity. Before deciding to buy my books you can view the first chapters for free by visiting: www.pabd.com/2004/books/cab_driver www.pabd.com/2005/books/its_been_emotional

Mon, 2006-04-17 07:36

#12

justyn_thyme

I think their criticism had more to do with writing autobiography rather than writing about things you know. It is possible to use actual experience to create a totally fictional story. Bukowski mostly wrote autobiography. I don't have a problem with that because many American writers do it, but other traditions look down on it. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Mon, 2006-04-17 13:12

#13

karl_wiggins

I believe Jackie Collins does that. I understand that whenever her latest fictional novel is published its snapped up by Hollywood starlets and produces trying to spot themselves. Before deciding to buy my books you can view the first chapters for free by visiting: www.pabd.com/2004/books/cab_driver www.pabd.com/2005/books/its_been_emotional

Wed, 2006-04-19 16:49

#14

tara_hanks

I'd like to see this. I've read the book and Matt Dillon is a good choice - he's pretty for sure, but is happy to play it down and has made some interesting movies. Barfly was a good movie too. I like Bukowski's writing, some of it is real but with flights of fantasy too. His spare, unflinching style lifts it above the anedcotal. He's a much-imitated writer.

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