Crazy Love (1987)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Dominique Deruddere

Writers:

Charles Bukowski (novels)
Dominique Deruddere (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man in search of love. Harry Voss, 12, is young and naive...

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Dark Comedy | Drunkenness | Masturbation | Coming Of Age

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Josse De Pauw	...	Harry Voss
Geert Hunaerts	...	Voss, child
Michael Pas	...	Stan
Gene Bervoets	...	Jeff
Amid Chakir	...	Bill
Florence Béliard	...	The Princess
Karen van Parijs	...	Moeder van Harry
Carmela Locantore	...	Gina
An Van Essche	...	Liza
Doriane Moretus	...	Marina
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
François Beukelaers
Erik Burke	...	Maud
Hans de Munter
Marcel Vanthilt	...	Student
Mieke Verheyden	...	Moeder met kind in de bus

Directed by
Dominique Deruddere

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Bukowski		novels
Dominique Deruddere		writer
Marc Didden		writer

Produced by
Alain Keytsman	....	producer
Erwin Provoost	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Raymond van het Groenewoud

Cinematography by
Willy Stassen

Film Editing by
Ludo Troch

Production Design by
Hubert Pouille
Erik Vanbelleghem

Costume Design by
Loret Meus

Makeup Department
Luk Van Cleemput	....	key hair stylist

Art Department
Florence Vercheval	....	painter

Sound Department
Lee Dragu	....	supervising sound editor (pilot)
Peter Flamman	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Didier Frateur	....	electrician
Frank Van Passel	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kristin Van Passel	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Eric DeVos	....	assistant editor
Philippe Ravoet	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Multimedia

Distributors

• Capital Cinéma (1989) (France) (theatrical)
• Cineplex-Odeon Films (USA) (subtitled)
• Mondo Macabro (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ace Digital House  restoration

Also Known As:

L'amour est un chien de l'enfer
Love Is a Dog from Hell

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Italian | Dutch

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:R | France:-12 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company:

Multimedia

Trivia:

Director Dominique Deruddere had Josse De Pauw walk around a busy shopping district in his acne makeup to see people's reactions to it. He speculated that De Pauw never got over the experience.

Unique Bukowski interpretation

LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL (a.k.a CRAZY LOVE) (Dominique Deruddere - Belgium 1987).

Three Bukowskian tales set in a Belgian, mostly rural, setting. How about that? Despite good reviews upon its release, winning several awards and getting support by Hollywood heavyweights Sean Penn and Francis For Coppola, the film vanished into obscurity almost immediately after its release. Perhaps it was bad timing, because Barbet Schroeder's star-studded BARFLY was released almost simultaneously. Who knows? By any chance, this film is a beauty, clearly deserving wider attention.

The film has a three-act construction, all set around the live of Harry Voss, focusing on his difficult search for love and affection. The first act is set in 1955 and follows Harry when he's twelve years old. He is struck by his first notions of true love when he sees a dream-like film in cinema, only to be helped out of his dream by a more mature friend who claims the only reason people get married is to get laid. Remember, it's fifties' rural Flanders we're talking here. In the second act, in the early sixties, Harry is a shy 19-year old, his face horribly disfigured by a grotesque form of acne. When driving in the bus, he is stared at by all the children, while the adults look away. There's a high school dance, but Harry can't get a girl. In the third act we get a more literal adaptation of Bukowsky's THE COPULATING MERMAID OF VENICE, CA., when Harry is a down-on-his-luck alcoholic, devoid of any aspirations, spending most of his time in shady bars. When he meets an old acquaintance, they go on a joined drinking binch and rehash old memories while patrolling the foggy streets. In their drunken frenzy ("for old time's sake") they decide to steal a body from an ambulance they see on a deserted street and take it to an abandoned house. This makes - how morbid it may sound - for one of the most beautiful and touching scenes of the film. The ending is a beauty.

In the first act the film starts of a bit slowly with some awkward moments. I found the second and third acts the strongest, but all three segments show remarkable cinematic harmony. Beginning and ending the film with nicely contrasted mirror images of "the Princess" running across some dimly lit corridor and Raymond van het Groenewoud's haunting musical theme, it makes for a very neat composition indeed. Cars also feature prominently in all three segments. Most of the key scenes take place in or around cars. It all a very American feel to it, especially the second act. A homecoming dance, a prom, lampoons, American cars, it's small town USA transferred to Belgium. The lead performance by Josse de Pauw who plays the adult Harry in the second and third acts, is a joy to watch.

All the more recommended, because of Mondo Macabro's excellent DVD-release. A bit of an oddity in their usual catalogue of all kinds of exploitational sewers of world cinema (which I often like, don't get me wrong), their treatment of the film is excellent, with a luminous new transfer and jam-packed with extras. Two documentaries, the "making-off" with some great footage of Bukowski and his thoughts on the film, a filmed interview with director Deruddere, a text essay on Flemish cinema, and Mondo Macabro's usual trailer reel of the wilder side of world cinema to top it all off. With an almost surrealist setting and touching subjects like necrophilia, it's not a film most audiences will embrace easily, but any fan of Bukowski, Belgian cinema or good cinema in general should really give this one a try. It might be a far cry from Bukowsky's usual settings but liberal interpretations usually make for far more interesting films. This is worth seeing. Damn, the man even approved of it himself!

Camera Obscura --- 9/10