In the spring of 1970 Charles Bukowski took his first plane trip for a poetry reading at Bellevue Community College in Washington state. That he was videotaped by two students apparently was later forgotten, but the tapes were recently rediscovered and have been released by Black Sparrow press. "Bukowski at Bellevue" gives us a fascinating glimpse of the man before he had to be concerned with how celebrity and financial security were affecting him. (It is said that this was only his fourth public reading.) This is Bukowski, then about 50, taken straight. No games, no irony, no self-consciousness--just an ordinary-looking guy, maybe hung over, sitting before a small group of students reading his work with gusto, humor and sensitivity. A man who clearly had lived the marginal life he wrote about with passion and at times a lyrical, even mystical beauty.
Similar titles
Reviews
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Bukowski at Bellevue is basically amateur footage of one of the poet's readings, unearthed after thirty or so years. With little or no introductory matter, it plunges straight into the readings, as Bukowski reads some of his best poetry for the audience.The film and sound quality testifies to the film's amateur origins, with the sound level at times fluctuating, and the film itself briefly freezing up as the audio goes on. However, viewers interested enough to rent this will not be watching for the technical aspects. Rather, they will thrill to hearing the man himself read poems such as "I Think of the Little Men." This film is best seen as a companion piece for the documentary Bukowski: Born Into This. Combining the latter film's examination of the poet's life with footage of him in action has an excellent effect.
Top Streaming Movies
