Henry Chinaski, novelist Charles Bukowski′s alter ego, has a few simple pleasures in life: drinking, betting on horses, chasing easy, anonymous women, and writing. This episodic adaptation of Bukowski′s book of the same title is a classic American down-on-his-luck type drama with the addition of the noticeable Scandinavian penchant for absurdity and offbeat humor. A factotum is an employee who does all kinds of work, and Henry is an ideal factotum. Drifting from one menial job to the next, and from one woman′s bed to the next, he spends half of his time drunk. The only significant act of any consistency in his life comes from his writing and being consistently rejected by publishers. Henry is surrounded by an assortment of odd characters, namely the dead-beat Jan, professional floozy Laura and oddball millionaire Pierre, in his desultory life. Matt Dillon turns in a standout performance as Henry in one of the best adaptations of quasi-Beat writer Bukowski′s books yet filmed. Factotum was produced by Aki Kaurismäki, one of the prominent Kaurismäki brothers filmmaking team.