Storie di ordinaria follia

Spectacularly sleazy, beautiful, boisterous and sexy, this is the real Bukowski deal, a booze-fueled erotic odyssey by the adventurous Ferreri with the perfectly cast Ben Gazzara as Charles Serking (Bukowski).

Ornella Muti, as Serking's sexual muse, is Venus incarnate and turns in a powerhouse performance as Cass, an emotionally damaged whore with a penchant for pain. The scenes of Gazzara swaggering in and out of LA's fleapit bars, apartments and hotel rooms convey a filthy, delirious ambiance that is vividly captured by Tonino Delli Colli's superb cinematography and Dante Ferretti's exquisitely oily production design. This is such an amazing looking film with a thick, steamy, anything-goes atmosphere of lust-ridden anarchy.

Much grittier than the accomplished "Barfly" and more watchable than "Love Is A Dog From Hell", the entire affair has an emotional, raw resonance that slavishly captures the Bukowski sensibility and remains consistently perverse in its singular vision of a man enslaved by alcoholic and sexual gluttony.

Phillipe Sarde's score is moody and rich, as is Gazzara's breathy voice-over.

A masterpiece.

Neither Bukowski nor Marco Ferreri's film will shock the audience any more. This is a grim tale, but told in an exciting way with the enigmatic Gazarra and the superb Ornella Muti in front of the camera, backed by legendary Italians, like production designer Dante Ferretti (who worked, among others, with Fellini and Pasolini, and recently bedazzled movie-goers with 'Titus') and D.O.P. Tonino Delli Colli ('The Good, the Bad and The Ugly'; 'Histoires Extraordinaires') A great film, some years ahead of its time, so now truly not to be missed.

Marco Ferreri is a challenging film artist. His films are powered by an

insistent, intense focus on the passions of flesh - the human response

to, need for, and meditation on our bodily bounds and desires. In his

other films he's explored the excesses which bind our mortality from

hunger to sex to suicide. Here he zeroes in on the texts of the poet

Charles Bukowski, whose poetic life of booze and sexual conquest has him

teetering on the brink of annihilation but remaining firmly in the realm

of fierce, soulful expression. The main character in Tales of Ordinary

Madness is a poet whose relationships with women range from the

infantile to the sadomasochistic while he continues to binge on a diet

of alcohol. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love. Being a poetic

film (that is based around symbols and evocative imagery rather than

plot) this is a beautiful, estranged experience. Its a fascinating

glimpse of America from the outside. Vividly powered by Ben Gazzara's

performance as the outsider poet in the shadows of society, this is a

film to be explored with a roving eye. Its a film where the sex scenes

are not choreographed and sensual but brutal and unflinching in their

approach to the passions of flesh. Its a rough film but one which takes

us into the dark corners of love.

If you are a conservative or weak of stomach, just forget this film. But if you are a true fan of Charles Bukowski, forget "Barfly" and attend this film. A deeply trip to human nature, you will find a Los Angeles that Hollywood does not show. Ugly, fat, drunks, dirty , insane people and other characters that only a European director as Marco Ferreri would have courage to bring.

Ben Gazzara does a very good drunk poet (he would be better if he had a bigger belly) and Ornella Muti is divine as usual. Forget all the idiots who felt bothered with the reality shown by the film and enjoy.

Just about everybody seems to hate 'Tales Of Ordinary Madness' even Charles Bukowski himself. I can't see why. For me it's an extraordinary movie just as good, if not better than, 'Barfly'. Director Marco Ferreri also made the unforgettable 'Blow-Out' ('La Grande Bouffe') another overlooked gem. Both movies are disturbing, poetic and very beautiful. Cassavetes fave Ben Gazzara is the perfect choice to play Bukowski substitute Charles Serking. He gives an utterly brilliant performance, his best along with 'The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie', another love-it-or-hate-it movie. Ornella Muti plays Cass, a self-destructive prostitute he falls in love with. Now Muti is just about the most beautiful actress I've ever seen in my life so I can see why someone would have a problem with her being cast in such a role. It may be unrealistic but she's convincing in a difficult part, and she's just mesmerizing to look at! An added bonus is cult fave Susan Tyrrell ('Fat City', 'Bad', 'Flesh & Blood', 'Cry-Baby',etc.) in the supporting cast playing a typically bent character for her. 'Tales Of Madness' is slow and meandering and anecdotal so people who prefer straightforward, simplistic Hollywood movies will hate it. But if you enjoy Bukowski's work or Hubert Selby Jr's check this movie out as I'm sure you'll be impressed.