''Tales of Ordinary Madness'' ( it, Storie di ordinaria follia, french: Contes de la folie ordinaire) is a 1981 film by Italian director

Marco Ferreri Marco Ferreri (11 May 1928 – 9 May 1997) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one o ...

. It was shot in English in the United States, featuring

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

and

Ornella Muti Ornella Muti (born Francesca Romana Rivelli; 9 March 1955) is an Italian actress. She made her film debut as Francesca Cimarosa in the 1970 film ''La moglie più bella.'' Early life Muti was born in Rome to a Neapolitan journalist father and ...

in the leading roles. The film's title and subject matter are based on the works and the person of US poet

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

, including the short story ''

The Most Beautiful Woman in Town ''The Most Beautiful Woman in Town & Other Stories'' is a collection of anecdotal short stories by American author Charles Bukowski. The stories are written in both the first and third-person, in Bukowski's trademark semi-autobiographical short ...

'' (published by City Lights Publishing in the 1972 collection ''

Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness ''Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness'' was a paperback collection of short stories by Charles Bukowski, first published by City Lights Publishers in 1972. It was the first collection of Bukowski's stories t ...

''). The film's protagonist, Charles Serking, is based on Bukowski's autobiographical character Henry Chinaski. At the time, the director

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to direct ...

owned the rights to the Chinaski name, having acquired them when he optioned Bukowski's 1971 novel ''

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

''.

Plot

The film follows the meandering (sexual) adventures of the poet and drunk, Charles Serking, laying bare the sleaze of life in the less reputable neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Serking's life takes a turn for the better when he meets Cass, a young hooker with self destructive habits. They have a stormy relationship. When Serking gets an offer from a major publishing house, Cass tries to stop him from leaving, but fails. Serking gives in to the temptation of the big bucks, but soon realises his mistake and returns to L.A only to find that Cass has killed herself in his absence. Devastated he hits the bottle in a nightmarish drinking bout, but finally reaches

catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

and returns to the seaside guesthouse where he spent his happiest moments with Cass. Here he rekindles his poetry with the aid of a young admirer in one of Ferreri's trademark beach scenes.

Reception

While successful in Europe, the film met with a lukewarm reception in the US despite its American setting.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a negative review.

Awards

The film won 4

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

and 2

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...

both including Best Director.

David di Donatello

*Marco Ferreri: Best Director *Sergio Amidei & Marco Ferreri: Best Script *Tonino Delli Colli - Best Cinematography *Ruggero Mastroianni - Best Editing

References

External links

* 1981 films 1981 drama films Italian drama films Films based on works by Charles Bukowski Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films about prostitution in the United States Films about alcoholism Films directed by Marco Ferreri Films scored by Philippe Sarde Films set in the United States Films based on short fiction French drama films English-language French films English-language Italian films 1980s English-language films 1980s Italian films 1980s French films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub