''Call Girl'' is a 2012

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle; high stakes and suspense are the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. Th ...

film directed by

Mikael Marcimain Mikael Marcimain (born 17 March 1970) is a Swedish film and television director. Marcimain has primarily directed advertisements and television dramas, for which he has received several awards. Notable in his filmography are the serials '' The La ...

and written by Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten. It stars

Sofia Karemyr Emmy Sofia Oline Karemyr (born 1 February 1994) is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Call Girl'' and '' Becoming Astrid'', and the Viaplay series '' Älska mig'' and ''Partisan''. Early and personal life Karemyr i ...

, Simon J. Berger and Josefin Asplund. The story is a fictionalised version of events based on the so-called ' political scandal of 1970s Sweden which linked several prominent politicians to a

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

ring that included underage girls.

Plot

Set against the backdrop of the 1976 election, the story is centered on delinquent teenager Iris, who is sent to live in a juvenile home. She meets Sonja there and the two regularly slip away for adventures in the city. Together they are recruited into a prostitution ring operated by Dagmar Glans, a madam well known to the authorities. Dagmar's clients are mostly rich and powerful men, including senior politicians of the day. She becomes the subject of a police investigation led by a young

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

officer, John Sandberg. Sandberg soon discovers Glans has powerful clients but also finds his investigation hampered by his superiors and his life threatened by sinister figures. Police break up the prostitution ring but the powerful clients avoid being named in the scandal and Dagmar's trial concludes with her receiving a suspended sentence before Iris can testify about being an underage prostitute. In the aftermath of the trial, Sandberg is killed in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

incident and his report into the affair is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

by the newly elected government. The film ends with Iris running away from the juvenile home, her ultimate fate ambiguous.

Cast

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an 80% rank based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10.

Accolades

It received the FIPRESCI Discovery prize at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

. The film opened the

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival () is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career fil ...

in November 2012. It went on to win the Silver Audience Award, which is voted for by the audience during the festival. It was later nominated in 11 categories at the

48th Guldbagge Awards The 48th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Sweden, Swedish 2012 in film, films of 2012 and took place January 21, 2013, at Cirkus (Stockholm), Cirkus in Stockholm. During the ceremony, the jury pr ...

, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, and won in four.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1977739 2012 thriller films 2010s political thriller films Drama films based on actual events Films about child prostitution Films directed by Mikael Marcimain Films set in 1976 Films set in Stockholm Films shot in Gothenburg Films shot in Stockholm Finnish thriller films Irish thriller films Norwegian thriller films Prostitution in Sweden Sexploitation films Swedish thriller films Thriller films based on actual events 2010s Swedish films