Crazy Love (1987)

Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man in search of love. Harry Voss, 12, is young and naive. Love, for him, is romantic love between princes and princesses demurely kissing ... See full summary »

Director:

Dominique Deruddere

Writers:

Charles Bukowski (novels), Dominique Deruddere,

Stars:

Josse De Pauw, Geert Hunaerts, Michael Pas

7 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Josse De Pauw	...	Harry Voss's father / Harry Voss at 19 / Harry Voss at 33
Geert Hunaerts	...	Harry Voss at 12
Michael Pas	...	Stan
Gene Bervoets	...	Jeff
Amid Chakir	...	Bill
Florence Béliard	...	The Princess / The corpse
Karen van Parijs	...	Moeder van Harry
Carmela Locantore	...	Gina
An Van Essche	...	Liza Velani
Doriane Moretus	...	Marina
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
François Beukelaers	...	The doctor
Erik Burke	...	A student
Chris Cauwenbergs	...	The tall sailor (as Chris Cauwenberghs)
Dirk Celis	...	A policeman
Guido Colonne	...	The headmaster

Storyline

Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man in search of love. Harry Voss, 12, is young and naive. Love, for him, is romantic love between princes and princesses demurely kissing each other on the mouth. His father is a hero who kidnapped his mother and married her on a lonely mountain peak... Later on, he'll do the same. But Harry has a lot to learn. He also learns that there are handsome men and ugly ones, that love can be unfair. That one can find comfort in drinking... but above all he learns that man is capable of anything - absolutely anything! - to get his fair share of love.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | masturbation | voyeurism | prom | sex with the dead | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Italian Dutch

Release Date:

1987 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Love Is a Dog from Hell

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Box Office

Gross:

$119,919 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kabinet van de Gemeenschapsminister van Cultuur, Ministère de la Communauté Française de Belgique, Multimedia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on three short stories 'by Charles Bukowski', the main one being 'The Copulative Mermaid of Venice, Calif'.

User Reviews

Mary Jane's Last Dance

CRAZY LOVE (Love Is A Dog From Hell) is a romantically disquieting and dismaying film by Flemish director,Dominique Deruddere, and is loosely based on Charles Bukowski's short story, "The Copulating Mermaid From Venice, California". Bukowski is often referred to as, "The Poet Laueate of Skid Row", and all of his work embraces the darker aspects of reality, and this film is certainly no exception. CRAZY LOVE is divided into three parts, and examines the life of the deeply flawed and conflicted individual, Harry Voss. In the first section, we witness Harry at the age of twelve as he begins to intuit the romantic possibilities of Love, and is introduced to the sordid mechanics of sex. And, in the second section, he is a senior in high school who tries to establish some kind of a romantic relationship with the opposite sex while dealing with a disfiguring case of acne. And, in the final section, Harry directly confronts the most perfect manifestation of his sexual and romantic desires. The film is a minor classic of Flemish cinema, and the Netlix disc contains an excellent Bonus Selection which offers an insightful conversation with the director, a short feature on the making of the film, and a brief description of the history of Belgium film-making. CRAZY LOVE is certainly not for everyone, but Bukowski has said that this film comes the closest to capturing the essence of his work.