This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
Acting
Matt Dillon's thousand-yard stare should win its own award.
Cinematography
LA looks like a stained postcard nobody wants to send.
Writing
Bukowski's prose adapted with surprising fidelity and zero romanticization.
Director
Bent Hamer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bukowski himself died in 1994; this was one of several posthumous adaptations, but the only one his widow praised for capturing his 'sad, funny dignity.'
The 'factotum' title refers to a jack-of-all-trades worker—Hamer filmed in Oslo standing in for LA because it was cheaper, creating an accidentally dreamlike dislocation.
US
