Szenen eines wüsten Lebens (1987)

Szenen eines wüsten Lebens: Directed by Barbet Schroeder. With Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance. Based on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

“Despite Bukowskiu0026#39;s condemnation of Mickey Rourkeu0026#39;s portrayal of him/Chinaski in the film (claiming Rourke was too cocky with the role, and didnu0026#39;t stick to the character of Chinaski as Bukowski intended) states Bukowski in the documentary u0026quot;Bukowski: Born Into Thisu0026quot;, I still view it as one of the highlights of Rourkeu0026#39;s career.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhether the depiction of a character is exact in the fashion of perfect mimicry is often irrelevant to me in relation to biopics. As a matter of a fact, I often find it the downfall of some biopics, where the physicality may be captured, but the meat and potatoes of the characteru0026#39;s are often left by the wayside. Not so in the instance of u0026quot;Barfly.u0026quot; Rourke nailed Bukowski/Chinaskiu0026#39;s crazy, alcoholic, free spiritedness brilliantly, I felt. There was a humor, a tenderness, a coldness, a twisted romanticism, and a bleakness, all wrapped into a greasy, overweight (Rourke pulled a u0026quot;De Nirou0026quot;, gaining weight and not bathing months before the filmu0026#39;s shooting) package you could almost smell from the theater seats.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFaye Dunaway as the aging, sad, beautiful barfly Wanda, gives a performance that yet again reminds us why she is a cinematic legend in her own time! She plays the subtleties and intricacies of Wanda with such aplomb, offering even this – the most pathetic of her roles – a dignity and a sad beauty that not many actresses can pull off.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe casting of this film deserves a round of applause! Iu0026#39;ve tended bar and worked in the sorts of joints where these all too real people can be found, and I felt as if I was right there again, pouring shots of bourbon, polishing glasses, and making certain that the brawls boiling in the bar get taken to the streets. Frank Stalloneu0026#39;s swaggering, bully-of-a-bar tender, macho-man Eddie is hilarious! Gloria LeRoy as u0026quot;Grandma Mosesu0026quot; the ancient prostitute infamous for her ability to u0026quot;swallow pasteu0026quot; is priceless. I could go on and on, but I wonu0026#39;t! Bukowskiu0026#39;s male character counterpart is a macho, beer swilling, bare knuckle fighting, farting kind of man who some may not appreciate, considering that outside of the seedier bars in North America, these types of fellas are a dying breed. With males being force-fed the over-sensitive, turn the other cheek, annoyingly u0026quot;metro sexualu0026quot; kinds of roles models and ideals these days, it must be a strange look back over the evolutionary shoulder for some men to see the realities of people like Bukowski! Donu0026#39;t get me wrong – Iu0026#39;m not applauding all of the Chinaski characteru0026#39;s behaviors, but I think that some guys could learn a thing or two about themselves from the worst example of the diametric opposite of what theyu0026#39;ve been told they should be. Sometimes a fight has to be – sometimes itu0026#39;s just plain pathetic, and both examples can be found in Barfly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBukowski has always dared to put to page whatever entered his head, and did so with a twisted lovely flourish.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBarbet Schroeder, the man behind such brilliant and critically acclaimed films such as u0026quot;Moreu0026quot; (1969), his work with director as Jean-Luc Godard, his contribution to French u0026quot;Nouvelle Vagueu0026quot; or New Wave cinema, and his more mainstream flicks such as u0026quot;Single White Femaleu0026quot;, places him in a category above many directors working in North America today.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith Barfly, Schroeder captures the gritty realities of lives given over to the excesses of substances and circumstances in a true-to-life way, as he did with his first film u0026quot;Moreu0026quot;, a flick about heroin addiction done at a time when the subject was still considered very taboo. The musical score for Barfly supports this film perfectly, too, with the Hammond organ whirling out Booker T. Jonesu0026#39; u0026quot;Hip Hug Heru0026quot; as we P.O.V. our way through the filmu0026#39;s first scene, past the bar sign, to the baru0026#39;s door, and into the world of Henry Chinaski. This is all counter-pointed wonderfully by the use of Mozart and Beethoven under Rourkeu0026#39;s voice-overs of Chinaskiu0026#39;s writing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTo sum it all up – as much as I dig and respect Bukowski, I have to say that even though he wasnu0026#39;t a fan of the flick (long after its release I may add, and he was on set as an adviser and unaccredited cast member – why didnu0026#39;t he say something at the time?), I look at this movie as a wee gem and as a masterpiece daring enough to capture lifeu0026#39;s underbelly with an acuteness and accuracy many wouldnu0026#39;t dare to put to screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e~T.Paulu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ewww.t-paul.com”