Bukowski: Born into This
It was only a matter of time. Bukowski deserves this, which is not to say that there were not other documentaries made on him; there were, but none nearly as comprehensive as John Dullaghan’s Bukowski: Born into This. In his own words, Dullaghan “didn’t want to definitively try to sum up his life [but] to leave it a little bit open . . . to take you through the main areas so you can decide for yourself and ultimately read his books.”
To quote the Cohen brothers, “only a fool looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.” Dullaghan is no fool. He understands that Bukowski was a complex man, who spoke from the heart. Bukowski never attempted to lay a rigid narrative over it and for this very reason never trapped himself in any of the categories that people tried to cage him in over the years: misogynist, misanthrope, brawler, bawler of tears etc. He was them all, and he was brutally honest with himself and others. The crowning achievement of Dullaghan’s documentary is that it captures this.
As with all artists, Bukowski is defined by his life and work and how others interpret these. We see Bukowski’s public struggle to avoid other’s misconstructions. A Belgian interviewer tells him “love,” in his work, “is a synonym for sex.” Bukowski’s work invites this interpretation, yet there’s a loneliness and a yearning that runs through his prose as profoundly as his lust and callousness. His work asks the reader to consider whence this callousness comes. As an answer, Bukowski bitterly recalls one of his own titles, Love is a Dog from Hell. Indeed, we see Bukowski cry over Linda King 5 years after she has left him. This is not to justify what he did to others, but to point out how narrow his critics’ conceptions could be. The man had a “bluebird in his heart that wanted to get out.” Dullaghan doesn’t shrink his lens either; he includes footage of Bukowski attacking his wife. His actions were unprovoked and ugly, but Bukowski’s life and work were about, as Sean Penn puts it, “making mistakes in a messy world.”
Bukowski had a brutal childhood. His dad would beat him with a razor strap if he missed one blade of grass when he mowed the lawn. His mother was ineffectual; Bukowski portrays her as nothing more than a meek voice supporting his father’s actions. In adolescence, he had a strong case of acne vulgaris. He was a pariah and had no sanctuary at home. Despite his father’s abuse, he would still visit his family after he moved out. This speaks of a strong need for love, something he was likely angry and embarrassed about, and which haunted his intimate relationships through the years. It was not until he was in his sixties that he could handle revisiting his youth to write Ham on Rye, which significantly starts with “the first thing I remember is being under something.” Bukowski would spend the rest of his life trying to lighten the burden of a childhood in a “house of horrors.”
What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk through the Fire, he titled one of his books of poetry. Bukowski reached out to his audience, strived to comfort and inspire, often using “you.” The documentary goes beyond Bukowski’s life to show the impact of his work. It includes interviews with Tom Waits, Bono, Michael Cano, and Harry Dean Stanton (who does a superb job of reading his poetry). The major flaw of the documentary is that it lacks any statements from academics, whom Bukowski wasn’t the fondest of, but who could have done a much better job than Bono when it comes to presenting Bukowski’s work.
The documentary is engaging. It would be hard for it not to be so, since it is about Bukowski, who was a real ham for the camera. Nevertheless, Dullaghan artistically handles the film’s composition, music and tempo. One doesn’t need to be a Bukowski fan to stay involved.
The DVD is packed with special features. Dullaghan includes the last video footage of Bukowski, a home video of him reading his poetry. Most of the features extend on the film. John Dullaghan provides a running commentary about the making of the documentary and the support and guidance Bukowski’s work provided. The film is a welcome gift to Bukowski fans and a great introduction for those who haven’t read him yet.
Grade: A
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