SummaryBased on the novel by Charles Bukowski, Factotum is the story of a man living on the edge; a writer who risks everything, tries anything, and finds poetry in life's pleasure and pain. (IFC Films)
Directed By:Bent Hamer
Written By:Charles Bukowski, Bent Hamer, Jim Stark
Factotum
Metascore
Generally Favorable
71
User score
Generally Favorable
7.5
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
84% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
16% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
91
Factotum is so sly and low-key hilarious that anybody can be in on the joke.
80
The result is a surprisingly satisfying film, true to Bukowski and itself, a work that manages to make the man and his profane world more palatable without compromising on who he was and what he stood for.
75
The American writer and poet Charles Bukowski is certainly an acquired taste, and Factotum may be just the film for determining whether one wants to acquire it.
75
Factotum, starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor in two of their best film performances, is a good movie about the L.A. underbelly, as recalled by an expert: Charles Bukowski.
70
Matt Dillon is pitch-perfect as Bukowski's alter ego Hank Chinaski.
63
After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest.
50
None of it goes anywhere. It's just stylized alcoholism with a tired wink.
User score
Generally Favorable
71% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
21% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
7% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Feb 17, 2022
10
Without a doubt see this movie unless a life on the edge is beyond your pay grade. It is for some, and will be for more in future, a cult classic. Maybe better to watch a Bukowski lecture first, as the person behind the story is essential to understand if it's not already obvious to you from the first 5 minutes. Yet for all the outrageousness of the character, which to some is not in fact so outrageous actually, there is an essential truth that is revealed slowly during the bulk of the story and, in case you missed it, it's laid out for you at the end. Expressing your creativity comes at a price, which is the risk of failure if you need others to acknowledge it.
Feb 17, 2014
9
Funny, sad, and nice to look at, this film has a great small cast. Has a languid pace but is never boring. The changes in fortune of the protagonist Henry, an alcoholic writer, is always on the precipice of abject failure or (relative) success. Matt Dillon seems very authentic, very believable in his role. Stands a second viewing.
Production Company:
- Bulbul Films
- Canal+
- Celluloid Dreams
- Factotum
- Factotum
- MBP (Germany)
- Mikado Film
- Network Movie Film-und Fernsehproduktion
- Norsk Filmfond
- Norsk Filminstitutt (NFI)
- Norsk Filmstudio
- Pandora Filmproduktion
- SF Norge A/S
- StarkSales Inc.
- ZDF/Arte
Release Date:Aug 18, 2006
Duration:1 h 34 m
Rating:R
Tagline:What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.
Awards
Copenhagen International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 2 Nominations
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
