Bukowski: Born Into This

Prior to this first-rate documentary, my only visual exposure to Charles Bukowski was a few brief appearances he made on the Barfly DVD, which did little more than confirm a vague resemblance (in both appearance and attitude) to Samuel Fuller. But based on Bukowski's writing alone -- and Mickey Rourke's performance in Barfly -- you may get a slightly misleading picture of this complex and contradictory man. At least that's what Bukowski: Born Into This suggests, emphasizing the sensitivity and vulnerability that this anti-sentimentalist so often avoided in his writing. Ultimately, this documentary proves that, while the legend of Bukowski isn't quite accurate, the reality is far more interesting.

That's not to say that the legend is completely inaccurate. In fact, it appears to be true -- a clip of the intoxicated Bukowski physically attacking his wife testifies to this -- but somewhat incomplete. Director John Dullaghan draws on pretty much all existing film and video of Bukowski and interviews many of his former friends and admirers, arriving at a portrait that is both eye-opening and honest.

Most telling, Dullaghan gets some of Bukowski's former flames to compare their experiences with Bukowski to his written accounts of these incidents. In these scenes, a few things become apparent. For one, Bukowski saw himself as the hero of his stories and cut himself way more slack than an objective journalist would. In a sense, this is an honest approach, at least in defining the deluded self-absorption that figures prominently in so many personal relationships. More interestingly, it also becomes apparent that Bukowski had a tenderness and sensitivity that was hidden behind a phoney sense of macho bravado in much of his writing.

Celebrity participants include director Taylor Hackford (Ray), who made a documentary about Bukowski in the early 70s (which is excerpted here), Tom Waits, Sean Penn, and Bono, who never met or read a poet he didn't like. One of the highlights of the documentary -- a story that reinforces Bukowski's secret sensitivity -- begins with Bono and Penn getting drunk in Dublin and ends with Bukowski tearfully accepting a tribute from Bono at a crowded U2 concert.

Another highlight that really has nothing to do with anything -- but puts a smile on my face anyway -- is Bukowski's response to a journalist who attempts to interpret the depiction of love and sex in his work: "Where do you get this crap, baby? Love is a dog from hell. That's all. It has its own agonies. It brings its own agonies with it. But I don't know where you get your concepts from, man. You're really fucked up."

With discs like this, Bubble, Keane, and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Magnolia Home Entertainment is making quite a name for itself in 2006. For a movie that barely got a theatrical release, Bukowski: Born Into This gets a wonderfully comprehensive DVD release. Besides a respectable full frame transfer (the film was assembled from some fairly rough video and film sources), Magnolia includes Bukowski's final home movie footage, some previously unpublished poems, a deleted scene, extended interviews (with Bono, Hackford, and others), poetry readings by Bono and Waits, and a featurette.

The best feature of all is a commentary by director John Dullaghan, a courageous guy who gave up a soul-destroying job in advertising to pursue documentary filmmaking and make this project a reality. He even jeopardized his marriage for the sake of this project (his wife accused him of leaving her for Bukowski), a sacrifice that Bukowski fans should appreciate. In any case, Bukowski: Born Into This is a rare treat: an intimate and revelatory look at a one-of-a-kind literary mind. He may have been an alcoholic jerk, but he was a damn interesting alcoholic jerk. -- Jonathan Doyle