Call Girl

This movie is a fictitious account of the infamous "Geijeraffären" from the mid 70's where powerful men of the upper Swedish hierarchies, even ministers, bought sexual favors from young call girls, provided for them by a notorious brothel madam.

The movie has a strong theme, about how men in powerful positions feel they are entitled to almost everything, even buying sex from underage girls. The men of the upper classes' abuse of power and money is shown very clearly, and they don't shy away from threats or even murder to cover up what they have done. The real focus though is on the unfortunate girls from society's lower classes, who are abused by these men without a second thought, and this makes for horrendous viewing that really makes you feel uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the film's theme has somewhat been overshadowed by a controversy between the filmmakers and the Palme family. The hot topic is whether the prime minister in film is a portrayal of former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme or whether it is merely a fictional character. After initially defending their work, the director Michael Marcimain cowardly and spinelessly decided to cut his film, removing a key scene in a hotel room. Unfortunately, this leaves a HUGE plot hole, and the ending of the movie doesn't really make sense the same way without it.

Since I watched the censored blu-ray version I had to do some research afterward to piece together the importance of the missing scene with the rest of the movie.

The movie is a beautifully shot period piece and a top class conspiracy thriller reminding me of Robert Redford's best efforts back in the 70s like Three Days of the Condor or All the President's Men. However, it's tragic how the filmmakers failed do defend their excellent work and decided to cut their own movie after pressure from the Palme family. This act of cowardice is a source of frustration for everyone who is forced to watched the censored version and unfortunately this takes away some of the attention from the powerful theme of the film and what the filmmakers really wanted to say.

1970s and a Swedish scandal which is said took place in reality. High politicians went to prostitutes, some of them certainly much under age.

The problem with this film is whether it's having too little or too much to do with what really happened. Real historical persons appear here, only slightly disguised or not disguised at all really. But that's another kind of discussion. Are there anyway qualities to be found?

Yes, the so called life of the young girls is narrated in a rather touching way and focus should have been on that. Instead it's about corrupt politicians, corrupt police captains and a single policeman trying to fight it. The characters are somewhat square, which hides the story a little.

A Swedish semi adult-drama inspired by the real story of country's corruption and scandal during the time woman's liberation and the sexual revolution. It also went through controversy before hitting the screen. The story is set in the backdrop of the 1976 general election which centers around two troubled teenage girls Iris and Sonja. They are sent to live in a juvenile home, in the night time they begin to explore the city with other girls from the institution. Then they meet a woman called Dagmar who introduce them into the all new world. Like the German movie 'The Lives of Others' a young police officer named Sandberg is assigned to comb the taped phone calls, only for the formality. As he goes deeper into it becomes bigger, he cross-connects which crack loose everything to hit him back.

The movie might be about prostitution but it had less nude scenes which come occasionally. That mean you should not consider it is suitable for all age group. But good for the movie fans from different category who are willing to know the true incident than witnessing sexual side of the tale. It also indicates the struggle of underage girl's without proper guidance in the society. More like the country's security system was flawed. Especially the character Iris' run away at the end tells how safe it was for women in those times.

The filmmakers brought the real atmosphere of 70s. I think it was the perfect cast and their performances. Overall it was a nice movie which throws some lights on the truth about illegal activities and underage prostitution and also dragging the powerful names. Yeah, you must see this movie to know all these in picture than expecting some erotic.

7/10

Well that was a disappointment. I thought the story (based on true events) would be something interesting to watch but the movie just turns out to be more than two hours of boredom. It's just not well made, it could have used a better editing and filming. Too many repetitive scenes, not even well shot, just made this movie boring to watch. The acting isn't anything special at all, just like the whole movie. Maybe it's interesting for somebody from Sweden, even though I doubt that. Did I regret watching this one? Yes, it's a waste of time!

A lifeless screenplay makes this ambitious film-project to wreck completely. A true story with all the right ingredients. Olof Palme, the minister of justice Lennart Geijer, Jane Fonda, sex with minors... A major political scandal, swept under the thick Swedish democratic rug. Storytelling turned into a tepid recitation of facts and participants. Very close to the updated version of the book "Bordellhärvan" by Deanne Rauscher, Gösta Elmquist, and Janne Mattsson (Pocketförlaget 2012). As some of you already pointed out, a remarkable tour de force of the "Call Girl" art department. Regarding the locations, most of them are negligent/ignorant choices. A 1976 costume in a Stockholm 2011. The film is stuffed with good distinctive Scandinavian actors. Most of them lost in a sprawling storyline. However, Pernilla August is truly magnificent. A lifeboat in an ocean full of good purposes.