Sunday, February 12, 2012

A Call Girl (AKA Slovenka ; Slovenian Girl) Review


This movie is a sleeper, a definite recommendation for people who enjoy character development & hyper-realism in films. For the 1st time, I am going to include the words of another reviewer because what is said perfectly fits with this movie. While there are some sexual scenes, violence, "bad" language & a gritty reality to this movie, nothing is done for shock value or gratuitously. Definitely NOT a film for children, I'd give this an NC-17. I personally would not buy it, though it's worth the rental and the time. On to the review:

"First of all, the DVD cover does not do the film justice. This isnt 9 1/2 Weeks or euro-trash. This IS, however, an incredibly subtle portrait of how a dissipated individual disconnects with their body in their pursuit for comfort and stability. Its one of those films where you might not like the lead character but you desperately want to learn more about them. They are engaging, gripping, and very very interesting. The same can be said of this film. Not a lot happens. Everything is very hyperrealistic. No cinematic conventions. Truly a breath of fresh air for a call girl film. Most importantly, as is the case with most euro-flicks, character development is EXQUISITE. You want to stay with these characters long after the film ends. You think about them. Thats a lot more than can be said for most films." [Anonymous Netflix reviewer].

One additional point. I usually stay away from foreign language films & dislike subtitled movies, however this one was a refreshing departure from the usual American films, the subtitles were easy to keep up with & easy to understand in context. The acting was superb by all involved, the dialogue gives the feel of eavesdropping on a real conversation, or peeping into someone else's life without them knowing, a voyeuristic credibility one may feel uncomfortable with at some points, which is a rare work in movies these days where work to stay within a film's mindset is almost always required, here you will forget you are watching a movie at all. The viewer becomes that involved. As was said above, I wanted to stay with these characters long after the credits stopped rolling. 

2 comments:

  1. I recently watched the original swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", with subtitles, and I felt much the same way as you seem to about this film. While I would not buy it, it was definitely worth the rental, an excellently done film.

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    1. It's funny because it was a toss up tonight between the two, and that is on my que next, it was a bit longer than I needed was why I chose the other (Call Girl over Tattoo). Now I'll look forward to seeing Tattoo even more, thanks for the recommend and comment. :)

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