14/05/2005

As an old regular, director Bent Hamer is back again at the Quinzaine des réalisateurs with his fourth feature film’s screening at Cannes, Factotum [+see also:
trailer
film profile] which succeeds to Eggs (1995) and Kitchen Stories (2003) which attracted considerable attention. This time, the Norwegian filmmaker headed for the USA adapting a novel by the trash Charles Bukowski and starring a fat and unrecognisable Matt Dillon as Henry Chinaski whose aims in life can be summed up in "drinking and writing". Obviously, this man on the fringe of society who constantly and unsuccessfully sends short stories to publishers takes unsecured jobs in order to make his living: melted ice-creams delivery boy, statue cleaner, bike repairman, factory workman… some attempts at integration that constantly fail given Henry’s anarchy and alcoholism level, a man who is more attracted by racecourses’ atmosphere than respecting social hierarchy. Thanks to a series of concise scenes, Bent Hamer portrays his character who had already been painted in a more self-destructive way by Barbet Schroeder in Barfly in 1987. With a gloomy sense of humour, Factotum focuses on Henry’s love stories, whose experiences are marked by alcoholism with painful wake ups, off-colour days and sudden eruption of tough violence. Among the women acting in the film, one can see Lili Taylor (Short cuts) who perfectly plays the part of an alcoholic lover and Marisa Tomei as a kept woman bordering prostitution. But above John Christian Roselund’s interesting work on retro images, Bent Hamer’s art lies in describing tactfully this heavy atmosphere, a quite smooth approach that could however be criticized by the real Charles Bukowski’s fans.

With an American casting, Factotum is an original co-production gathering the filmmaker’s Norwegian company (Bulbul Film), German people from Pandora and Starksales (USA). Also co-produced by ZDF/Arte, the film is internationally sold by the French company Celluloid Dreams which sold the film to over 20 countries even before Cannes. Factotum was previewed on last April, 12 at the Trondheim Festival and released in Norway on April, 29.

(Translated from French)