Bukowski: Born Into This (2003): review: 6.5/10

Documentary tracing Bukowski's life through interviews with him, his publisher, ex-girlfriends and wife.

There are also hagiographic accounts from famous fans such as Tom Waits, Sean Penn, and the appalling self-regarding "Bono".

Ergo, the film functions primarily a celebration of the dissolute writer. However, there is one quite shocking piece of footage where, seated on a sofa beside his wife during an interview, he begins first to insult her, and then to kick her with his feet off the sofa. The films passes quickly from this incident as if it reveals nothing.

This shallowness is mirrored by by the films failure to attempt any critical evaluation of Bukowski's writing.

Barfly (1987): review: 6/10

A dissolute writer engages in fist-fights and drinks heavily in the bars he frequents in LA. He meets a woman and moves in with her: they drink a lot and hang about bars.

The film begins very slowly but later picks up thanks to Faye Dunaway's charm.

It can be compared to "Factotum": both feature Charles Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, and the plotlines are fairly similiar.

However, "Factotum" is more beautifully filmed, showing considerable sensitivity to urban locations and interiors. Moreover, the plot of "Factotum" is much more varied, and Dillon's acting is subtler: heis more convincing as a successful writer than Rourke.

Factotum (2005): review- 9/10

Matt Dillon is magnificently world weary as the struggling writer, stumbling from job to job in St Paul, Minnesota.

This film is Norwegian and there is more than a little of Hamsun's "Hunger" in all this, though the film is based on Bukowski.

Very beautifully shot, with great music too.