by CHRIS BARRY

Working as a stooge in the world of corporate advertising, Bukowski: Born Into This director John Dullaghan decided it was time to leave the ad biz after his regular 60- to 70-hour work weeks finally saw him lying on his back in an emergency ward, complaining of chest pains and wondering if he was about to die.

Around the same time, Dullaghan picked up a copy of Charles Bukowski's seminal novel Post Office, an account of the late author's 14-year stint in the U.S postal service, and immediately recognized Bukowski's miserable experience within his own life. So what does the guy do next? Well, he goes about digging up Bukowski's old work mates, wives, publishers and mega-fans (Bono, Sean Penn and Tom Waits), spends all of his own money, and, over a seven-year period, produces an absolutely brilliant documentary on arguably one of the most brilliant writers of the last 50 years.

His first, and possibly last, film effort, Dullaghan's portrayal of the alcoholic, bitter, wife-whacking genius is, while somewhat disturbing, a pleasure to behold, an exceptional piece of work that will no doubt stand as the definitive exploration into the wacky world of Charles "Hank" Bukowski. The Mirror spoke with Dullaghan from his home in L.A.

Mirror: What was your primary intention with this film? To initiate the uninitiated to Bukowski, or to try to better set the record straight on the man?

John Dullaghan: I simply thought he was an amazing artist, a really important part of our culture and I realized I was at a perfect place and time to record his life. The people who knew him were still alive and I recognized it was important to try and take this very complex life and put it on the record. He is so very misunderstood.

M: I noticed that at the beginning of your flick, he's drinking in practically every shot, but as the film moves along you get away from that, as if to say, "Okay, here's the icon you all know about, but look a little deeper and you'll recognize the obvious sensitivity within this old drunk's soul."

JD: Absolutely, we wanted to do that. Start off with the Bukowski everybody knows, or thinks they know, and then add dimension slowly throughout the film. Older people, who've been around a bit, they see the pain and sensitivity in him. Younger people see that also, but for them it's more about this hard-assed guy, the alley brawler, the drinker. And I know that what sells movies is the sex and the violence, and it would have been easy to cater to that, but I really tried to present a more balanced picture. I didn't want to do an advertisement for Bukowski, to glorify him. He was such an honest writer, and that's how you want to do a film on him. You have to respect that.

Snob story

M: Do you find there's a certain degree of literary snobbishness against a So-Cal writer like Bukowski?

JD: I think you're right. He doesn't appeal to the intellect, he appeals to the intuitive sense. Which is not to say he wasn't a genius. He was an extremely bright person, but with him it came from the heart. He was more visceral. I can see where more intellectually inclined people would think his work dumb, or wouldn't take it seriously or see the craft in it because they don't see themselves in him. They just see something that is vulgar - visceral, but in a negative sense. He's not for everyone, you know. He deals with a lot of disturbing stuff. He reminds us there is darkness there, that there is violence and abuse, all kinds of abuse. And there are those of us who are willing to look at that, look at it straight on, and there are those who don't want to look at it at all. Bukowski is not for them. I think his readers, or people who gravitate towards Bukowski, are people who have a little bit of Bukowski in them.

Brawling for Hollywood

M: Do you think, ultimately, that the film Barfly was a good or bad thing for the man? On the one hand, you have this major promo vehicle, but on the other what's being promo-ed isn't really an accurate portrayal.

JD: Well, his book sales went way up after that film came out, but yeah, did it really hurt his reputation? He did write the script, you know, so it was part of him. You've got to remember, here was his chance to write a big Hollywood script, he could have done anything he wanted and Barfly is what he chose to do. Nobody put a gun to his head. It was him who decided to glorify that part of his life - the hard-assed guy, the alley brawler, the drinker.

M: What did you think of that flick?

JD: (pause) It's not one of my favourites. But it's not fair to judge it as a biography. It was a fictional film.

M: What are you working on now?

JD: Dude, I'm just recovering from the experience [of making this movie], back doing freelance advertising, trying to get my finances back in order. I haven't seen a dime from the film and it's going to be a long while before I do. You don't really make any money with these things. You break even if you're lucky.

M: So is it possible this will be the only movie you ever make? Maybe become the JD Salinger of the documentary cinema world?

JD: I hope not, but the thing is, I don't necessarily want to become a famous filmmaker. There are a million subjects I could approach but I need something I'm passionate about, that is worth making a film about, that is beneficial to the people who see it. You know, if you can produce something that really gets in to the culture, and truly affects people emotionally, it makes it all kind of worth it.

Bukowski: Born Into This plays at Cinéma du parc, Sept. 17–23

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