Crazy Love

Crazy Love (1987), directed by Belgian filmmaker Dominique Deruddere, holds a unique place in cinematic history as the first Flemish-Belgian film to hit theaters in North America. Adapted from Charles Bukowski's controversial short story "The Copulating Mermaid of Venice, California," the film sparked significant debate, particularly in the United States, due to its provocative subject matter.

In the 80s, Madonna, Sean Penn, and Francis Ford Coppola, all close to Bukowski at the time, championed the film's release, but ultimately it failed to achieve the expected box office success.

However, the film's exceptional cinematography and the actors' remarkable performances have solidified its position among the best and most epic Bukowski adaptations. When Netflix introduced the film to a wider audience in early 2020, the world had changed, and the film finally attained its well-deserved cult status.

The film's visual style, crafted by cinematographer Willy Stassen, is a gritty and unflinching portrayal of the underbelly of Belgian society, mirroring the raw and often disturbing nature of Bukowski's writing. The performances, particularly Josse De Pauw's portrayal of Harry Voss across three different stages of his life, are nuanced and captivating, capturing the essence of Bukowski's anti-hero.

While the film may have been ahead of its time in 1987, its themes of love, obsession, and self-destruction remain as relevant as ever. The film's unflinching honesty and dark humor resonate with audiences who appreciate Bukowski's unique brand of storytelling.

"Crazy Love" is a testament to the enduring power of Bukowski's work and the ability of cinema to transcend cultural boundaries and provoke thought. It is a film that deserves to be discovered and rediscovered by new generations of viewers.

Rather effective three part tribute to Charles Bukowsi ( even if the first part is based on the semi autobiographical tale by his author of choice, Joe Fante). The middle section is more predictable than the others and all fairly shocking. The movie mixes music and tempos as well as mood to give just the right bitter sweet flavour with more than a hint of romanticism and drunkenness to give this the authentic air. The attempted initiation of the young boy, the acute acne humiliations and the necrophilia are all hard to take but the film is dressed well enough and a smile lingers despite it all. It also has to be said that the director has managed to convey a real sense of Bukowski's writings/life and that is no small feat in itself.

When it exploded onto screens in the mid 1980's, Oscar® nominated director

Dominique Deruddere's film CRAZY LOVE divided critics and audiences as few

films before or since.

Championed by Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, the film was picked

up for US distribution. Stars like Madonna and Sean Penn attended the LA

premiere. But the films shocking subject matter and startling imagery were too rich a combination for audiences at the time. The film vanished from sight,

becoming an instant cult classic - much written about but seldom seen and now reappraised as one of the most underrated films of the 1980's.

Taking his cue from stories by cult American author Charles Bukowski,

Deruddere's film tells the story of a man's life via three nights, spread over 20 years. We see his hero, Harry Voss, first as a romantic young boy of 12, then as an acne ridden teenager, lost in unrequited love, and finally as a drink sodden drop out, for whom no act is too dreadful to contemplate...with terrible and yet deeply moving consequences.

It's a film that, once seen, is never likely to be forgotten. A film with a unique, bitter sweet and poetic mood that manages to be funny and tragic at the same

time. A minor masterpiece.

A very nice debut by Flamish director in which he exposuse the works of writer Bukowski to the film world.

In the first part you see young harry being exposed to young male fantasies, which most guys of his age would not dare to do. You would say highly unlikely...but yet we all fantasies the same way.

The second part is set in his high school years. Harry now a student with the worlds' biggest acne problem. Really no joke, I myself had acne, but this guy... The acne was onpurposely over reacted, to give a real stamp on how hell teenage life can be(especially when you have acne, it really ruines your youth/life).

The third part shows a real black page out of the life of Harry. He know is a heavy alcoholic who meets an old friend, both get drunk and decide to....well for that you can better watch the film.

A very nice film with some great funny parts in the different timeperiodes. Very poetic, nice rock 'n roll music in the background (typical Belgium). Only sometimes the camerawork is really bad (intro at the cinema with the princess), but thats only a few (minor disadvantages) times. (Opposite)Check out the great camerawork at the end of part 1 (the face of harry) and the beginning of part 2, starting from the radio.

Enjoy

This movie shows the life of Harry Voss, from being a child with a romantic vision of the world to becoming a frustrated alcoholic. Only the third part is based on the short story "The copulating mermaid of Venice, California" by Charles Bukowski. But its development is so intense that it required two other chapters in order to make it even more meaningful. It mixes nice and entertaining images with black, depressing scenes and the end might not be everybody's taste. As one of the songs of the movie puts it, love hurts but it can also kill. Although the film can be funny at times it is mainly sad and it will not leave any spectator indifferent.