love be a dog from hell ( a. k. a crazy love ) ( dominique deruddere belgium 1987 ) . three bukowskian tale set in a belgian and mostly rural and set . how about that . despite good review upon it release and win several award and get support by hollywood heavyweight sean penn and francis for coppola and the film vanish into obscurity almost immediately after it release . perhaps it be bad timing and because barbet schroeder star stud barfly be release almost simultaneously . who know . by any chance and this film be a beauty and clearly deserve wide attention . the film have a three act construction and all set around the live of harry voss and focus on his difficult search for love and affection . the first act be set in 1955 and follow harry when he twelve year old . he be strike by his first notion of true love when he see a dream like film in cinema and only to be help out of his dream by a more mature friend who claim the only reason people get marry be to get lay . remember and it fifties rural flanders be talk here . in the second act and in the early sixty and harry be a shy 19 year old and his face horribly disfigure by a grotesque form of acne . when drive in the bus and he be star at by all the child and while the adult look away . there a high school dance and but harry can not get a girl . in the third act we get a more literal adaptation of bukowsky the copulating mermaid of venice and ca . and when harry be a down on his luck alcoholic and devoid of any aspiration and spend most of his time in shady bar . when he meet an old acquaintance and they go on a joined drinking binch and rehash old memory while patrol the foggy street . in their drunken frenzy ( for old time sake ) they decide to steal a body from an ambulance they see on a deserted street and take it to an abandon house . this make how morbid it may sound for one of the most beautiful and touch scene of the film . the end be a beauty . in the first act the film start of a bit slowly with some awkward moment . i find the second and third act the strong and but all three segment show remarkable cinematic harmony . begin and end the film with nicely contrast mirror image of the princess run across some dimly light corridor and raymond van het groenewoud haunt musical theme and it make for a very neat composition indeed . car also feature prominently in all three segment . most of the key scene take place in or around car . it all a very american feel to it and especially the second act . a homecoming dance and a prom and lampoon and american car and it small town usa transfer to belgium . the lead performance by josse de pauw who play the adult harry in the second and third act and be a joy to watch . all the more recommended and because of mondo macabro excellent dvd release . a bit of an oddity in their usual catalogue of all kind of exploitational sewer of world cinema ( which i often like and do not get me wrong ) and their treatment of the film be excellent and with a luminous new transfer and jam pack with extra . two documentary and the make off with some great footage of bukowski and his thought on the film and a film interview with director deruddere and a text essay on flemish cinema and and mondo macabro usual trailer reel of the wild side of world cinema to top it all off . with an almost surrealist setting and touching subject like necrophilia and it not a film most audience will embrace easily and but any fan of bukowski and belgian cinema or good cinema in general should really give this one a try . it might be a far cry from bukowsky usual setting but liberal interpretation usually make for far more interesting film . this be worth see . damn and the man even approve of it himself . camera obscura positive .