NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Scott LeBrun The writings of cult favorite Charles Bukowski are the basis for this deliberately paced journey into the underbelly of L.A. society, as an alcoholic, degenerate poet & lecturer, Charles Serking (Ben Gazzara), muses on the lives that he and his associates lead. He is particularly taken with a very troubled prostitute named Cass (Ornella Muti), and embarks on a sort of relationship with her, even as he continues to indulge in his more debased whims. Meanwhile, it seems as if his career might really be going somewhere, as publishers in NYC come calling.This film is going to be a hard slog for some people. It's an interminable outing that requires its audience to spend time with characters who are off putting to one degree or another. Still, some people should appreciate what could be seen as this films' honesty when it comes to portraying artistic but troubled types. Bukowski certainly was a talent, no doubt about that, and his material is sometimes played with a degree of humor.The actors may not be at their all time best, but they're still somewhat amusing to watch. Gazzara is a hoot as Serking. The very lovely young Muti is touching. Susan Tyrrell has a brief bit as a sexy (!) stranger on a bus whom Serking pursues for the purpose of sexual assault.Languidly paced and very sobering, this does feature a memorable sequence involving Muti and a safety pin, and a fairly devastating scene near the end as a character is overcome by grief.Devotees of Bukowski and the director, Marco Ferreri, will likely rate this much higher.Five out of 10.

Didier (Didier-Becu) Everyone will have their opinion about Charles Bukowski but fact is that he's the kind of author who kicks us a conscience or as he say himself "I know a lot of dogs who have more style than humans but then again I don't know that many dogs with style". His books had two main subjects : drinking and sex. So no wonder that Marco Ferreri's adaption of one Bukowski's books are like that as well. We follow the life of an author Serking (who in fact is Bukowski and being excently performed by Ben Gazarra) in where he is looking to freed himself, he finds his escapes in Cazza (Ornella Mutti) a prostitute who is fed up with life and who only likes to humilate her (beautiful) body. Ferreri directed like most of his films are, pretty cold, shocking, alternative but above all watchable, so this is no art-nonsense. How it was possible is beyond me but Ferreri couldn't have found a better actor than Ben Gazarra doing this job, one of his best roles!

Mattydee74 Marco Ferreri is a challenging film artist. His films are powered by aninsistent, intense focus on the passions of flesh - the human responseto, need for, and meditation on our bodily bounds and desires. In hisother films he's explored the excesses which bind our mortality fromhunger to sex to suicide. Here he zeroes in on the texts of the poetCharles Bukowski, whose poetic life of booze and sexual conquest has himteetering on the brink of annihilation but remaining firmly in the realm of fierce, soulful expression. The main character in Tales of OrdinaryMadness is a poet whose relationships with women range from theinfantile to the sadomasochistic while he continues to binge on a dietof alcohol. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love. Being a poeticfilm (that is based around symbols and evocative imagery rather thanplot) this is a beautiful, estranged experience. Its a fascinatingglimpse of America from the outside. Vividly powered by Ben Gazzara'sperformance as the outsider poet in the shadows of society, this is afilm to be explored with a roving eye. Its a film where the sex scenesare not choreographed and sensual but brutal and unflinching in theirapproach to the passions of flesh. Its a rough film but one which takesus into the dark corners of love.

paul_mcmahon_au TOOM is a slice of life film which confronts the viewer with a stark view of the world many not-comfortably settled members of our community actually live. It shows this view without flinching, and without horror, even in the most confrontational moments.The poetry sharply contrasts to the imagery. Bukowski's "Style" is a modern classic.It is a hard film to watch because it steps outside of our comfort zones, yet, like "Man of Flowers" and "Montenegro", it is well worth the time and perceverance.