Nacktschnecken

Nacktschnecken (translated "slugs") is an Austrian low-budget comedy with quite a fine plot: Three young pals plan to earn money by shooting an hardcore-porno movie. But is it really so easy to shoot some gang-banging with home-video equipment?

What sounds like some stupid German 70s sex-movie is in fact a very entertaining comedy, both clever and sensitive. So if you like new Austrian cinema like "Hundstage" (which is - of course - much more serious) - you should not miss this one.

The flick was shot in Styria, so much of it's charm depends on various local accents (like a Viennese pimp, a girl from Graz's upper class, rural-styrian working class heroes e.a.). So this movie is not really easy to translate.

This is not Zack and Miri make a ... nope, this is an Austrian movie where they think they can easily do one. And they would be right in the normal world probably ... if they wouldn't all have issues of their own. Be it love triangles, false expectations, weird behaviour in general and so much more akwardness.

All that culminates in quite a few funny scenes (and a lot of scenes that show actual scenes from other porn movies - so "real" sexual situations and/or nudity from the actors themselves here) - and an ending that seems quite otherworldly. Now I like where they went with it - but I also think it could have been staged better. Something is missing to push this over the top, where it would belong.

So while this is at least a decent effort (if you are not too squeamish about the mentioned strong sexual themes as I would call them), it is also not a great movie either.

I've seen this film on the Moscow International Film Festival 2004, where it was shown only twice in the non-contest programme. On my opinion this is the great example of the non-Hollywood low-budget motion picture. The scenario is very good, characters and acting are good, no FX, but it was so funny ...and their Austrian dialects.... Some scenes were shot like parody on the Lars von Trier's "Idiots" but looked funny and not serious. As a conclusion: good work, worth to see.

I'll really buy the DVD with this film when it'll be available in shops.