Nacktschnecken

The notoriously unsuccessful ex-student trio Johann (Raimund Wallisch), Max (Michael Ostrowski) and Mao (Pia Hierzegger) believe they can redeem themselves with an improvised porn film shoot. But not only the fantasies of wealth through (and with) sex turn out to be deceptive. With Nacktschnecken, Michael Glawogger and his co-writer Ostrowski created the prelude to a sex-drugs-and-rock'n'roll trilogy that remains unique in Austrian cinema. Even here, the style is more reminiscent of the highlights of the US slacker comedy of the 1990s. Behind the playful wordplay and adorably absurd ideas - cheetahs in a Styrian garden? - there remains a memorable melancholy undertone. The fresh approach benefits from the well-rehearsed ensemble of Graz's Theater am Bahnhof, which has been joined by a few star guests, including the dynamic duo of Detlev Buck and Georg Friedrich as a diaphragm-shaking pair of opposites (affected Piefke and uninhibited Austroprolet). (Christoph Huber)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum