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

As the British Board of Film Classification rating appeared on the screen, I heard one of the other people in the audience exclaim "Contains strong sex?!" Well what did she expect of a film called 'Call Girl'? It's based upon real-life events in Sweden during the 1970s. Two juvenile delinquent teenage girls nightly escape from their free-and-easy reform school to sample the fast-paced life of, erm, Stockholm. Eventually they are drawn in the world of pimp Dagmar Glans, who soon has them servicing her client list of top-flight judges and politicians (she's a sort of 1970s' Swedish version of Cynthia Payne, although Payne, as far as I'm aware, was never suspected of pimping under-age girls). Meanwhile a young(ish) police officer charged with investigating Glans finds his efforts stymied by shadowy figures, in an entirely predictable fashion.This film caused a stir in Sweden for suggesting that Olof Palme, a Prime Minister assassinated in 1986, was one of Glans' clients. But for anyone not versed in Swedish politics that main sensational point is wasted. Instead the viewer watches a rather rambling production which, while diverting enough, feels a bit flabby (like many of Glans' clients, ho ho ho). And those who like their plot lines tied off neatly will be frustrated, as by the end of the film a number of questions still haven't been answered: precisely why were the secret services so keen to interfere in the police investigation? Why did that nasty thing happen to the police officer? What happened to the girl on the bus? But there's an enjoyable central performance from Pernilla August as the tough-as-nails old boot Glans, and it's nice to see some real-life Scandi-crime rather than the often substandard fictional stuff that's spreading across television at the moment. However, I have to question whether a film about the sexual exploitation of young girls needed to feature quite so many topless shots of them...

Swedish thriller regarding prostitutes and politicians in the Seventies, which caused quite a stir in its own country due to its suggestion that a popular prime minister of that era engaged in secret sexual hook-ups with underage girls who were forced into this sleazy business. Though in truth the movie only briefly touches upon that particular subject, it's no surprise many Swedes would take offense at the rather bleak and harsh view Call Girl offers of the political arena of the day and its subversive fascination with young female flesh, as seen through the eyes of a troubled teenage girl, locked away in a juvenile rehabilitation center. As she escapes her confinement she and her friend soon meet up with all the wrong people and are ushered into a world of glitter and power where they can have whatever they want, but for a price. Under the "care" of an unscrupulous older woman, a terrifying role by Pernilla August (once Anakin's warm and caring mum), she finds herself landing the job of underage hooker, being shipped from one dirty old powerful man to the other, seemingly with no hope of escape. Meanwhile, a political news reporter gets wind of the whole affair and means to expose it, but finds himself intimidated by the agents of the powers-that-be at every turn, until there is no way out but death or victory. Call Girl cannot be denied to be a gutsy movie, handling a sensitive topic with nerve and bravery, but there's various elements against either enjoying it as a thriller or taking its contents too seriously. For one thing, there is the excessive running time of 140 minutes, which surely could have been shorter to make for a more compelling film, since several scenes of political corruption and debauchery, heroic investigative journalism and plenty of bare boobs feel redundant. For another, the main girl the movie revolves around is a rather stupid, obnoxious and spoiled young cow, making one stupid decision after the other to predictable effects, making it hard to really care about her fate since she so obviously did everything to deserve it. Though the ice cold, wholesomely disturbing role by August and the shocking, uncompromising climax make up for it quite a bit, it's not enough to make the movie feel like its overstaying its welcome, while appearing to warn teenagers to behave and stay away from strangers a little too overtly.

Swedish movies have been very difficult to find in USA after Bergman retirement, several years ago, but after the incredible international success of the "Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo" trilogy; Scandinavian cinema is (hopefully ) coming back to these shores.While "Girl with the Dragoon tattoo" started a heavy criticism on Swedish seemly perfect Government and Society; "CALL GIRL" is a frontal attack to an obviously two faced society with "double standard" public functionaries."CALL GIRL" in an almost documentary style tells the real events (with some name and time-line changes) that almost destroy Sweden political system the seventies.Upon Secret Service discovery (due to espionage suspicions) of several very high level ministries linked to a prostitution ring; investigation evolves to find out that almost every big political figure was involved too.The ring was run by Dagmar Galns (the excellent Pernilla August). The parallel story of two adolescent girls, recruited by her slow down the movie; but lets us see the other side of the equation; get acquainted with prostitutes and their customers, abusers or exploiters.Surprisingly, the portrait of Glans is ambiguous; she is shown as an intelligent, workaholic (she works same as her girls), charismatic but abusive woman. Her followers, describe her as a savior (in that times rights for women and equal job opportunity were not granted). In the end, Glans, her girls, the two adolescent and the police trying to do their job, are just innocent bystanders. The real wolves are the corrupt and/or cowards politicians and government officials, using their power to cleanup their images sacrificing human lives in the process.The ending as you can guess; is not happy; but still it is a must see movie.