Review of Slacker (1990) by Maya M — 20 Mar 2007

This film nearly beats Altman's 'Nashville' to best portrait of a city, but it is more content on being a portrait of a sub-group within Austin, Texas - that of the slacker, those people who just don't want ot play by the rules, just don't want to conform, just don't want to be anything but a slacker.

The camera meanders around like a sociology student who only needs to hear several words of a conversation before knowing that they are the people that they are looking for. Ideas fly around from one corner of the city to the next, from one bedroom to another, as day slowly turns to night, and the amazement of any single day anywhere on earth is brought to the fore, as we start to realise that every single moment in time is frought with incidents, ideas, encounters and more besides.

It almost seems to be a film in defence of this sub-group of society, where the word slacker is usually used insultingly, but the film shows just how wrong people are to dismiss them, with their wacky creatice ideas and their passive buddha-like approach to life.

It is astonishing that this was all made for $25000 dollars, and it sounded the cinematic trumpet call for the no-budget film that would soon take shape in the indie filmmaking landscape. Inspiring!