Slumming (2006)
-
40% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(415 ratings)
A privileged young prankster with a cruel streak sends an alcoholic poet on a redemptive quest to find his way back home in director Michael Glawogger's semi-existential road drama. Sebastian (August Diehl) is a well-to-do slacker who has crafted his skill for slumming into something of an art… More A privileged young prankster with a cruel streak sends an alcoholic poet on a redemptive quest to find his way back home in director Michael Glawogger's semi-existential road drama. Sebastian (August Diehl) is a well-to-do slacker who has crafted his skill for slumming into something of an art form. Along with his flatmate Alex (Michael Ostrowski), Sebastian frequently arranges meetings with various women in dive bars throughout Vienna, only to photograph them surreptitiously under the table and use the resulting pictures as an endless source of amusement. As his already mean tricks begin to turn outright malicious, Sebastian finds the once-willing Alex growing increasingly uncomfortable with their "harmless" pastime. Kallman (Paulus Manker) is a troubled alcoholic who sells his poems on the street in order to stay inebriated. When Sebastian and Alex discover an unconscious Kallman sleeping off his latest round of drinks on a train station bench, they quickly spirit the clueless drunk into their car and across the Czech border where he is casually dumped without identification in a remote village. Subsequently enamored by restless local teacher Pia (Pia Hierzegger), Sebastian inadvertently revolts the kindly educator by jovially revealing the details of his latest practical joke. As a determined Pia sets out to locate the ailing alcoholic and safely bring him back home, Kallman attempts to recount just how he ended up so far away from Vienna as he navigates a strange and unfamiliar landscape. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Glawogger
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Nov 24, 2006 Wide
Critic Reviews
-
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Ably shot and well-performed and observed, Slumming, initially manifests an interesting and unsentimental impassivity and moral neutrality before succumbing to a more-or-less orthodox story of redemption through love. Impressive all the same.
-
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
Darkness overshadows humor with characters that are either so overbearing or misanthropic that they destroy any enjoyment of its quirky nature.
-
Eddie Cockrell, Variety
A provocative, finely crafted pic that becomes alarmingly disjointed in the last reels but casts enough of a spell.
-
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
It has promise, but it is mostly unrealized. ... The story doesn't develop but just falls apart.
-
Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
The rich toy with the poor and enjoy themselves, so what's new?
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
No Featured Audience Ratings Found…
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
Cast
-
Paulus Manker
as Kallmann
-
August Diehl
as Sebastian
-
Michael Ostrowski
as Alex
-
Pia Hierzegger
as Pia
-
Maria Bill
as Herta
- Martina Zinner
- Brigitte Kren
- Loretta Pflaum
- Martina Poel
- Andreas Kiendl
- Petra Bernhardt
- Kathrin Resetarits
- Caro Kuchwalek
- Nina Petz
- Nina Sieberer
- Markus Schleizner
- Elizabeth Scharang
- Alexander Tschernek
- Nik Kerssenbrock
- Yue-Zong Tsai
- Dragana Mirkovic