Night Call (5 Stars)

This is the seventh film in the Stuttgart White Nights Festival.

It's high level action from start to finish. It takes place in a single night, beginning late in the evening and continuing until morning. A young locksmith called Mady Balan is hired to open an apartment for a woman who's lost her keys. That's what she tells him, at least. It's standard procedure for him to take a photo of the customer's identity card, but before he can take the photo he's attacked by the apartment's real owner. She wanted to break in to steal money, and Mady has unwittingly assisted her. Over the following seven or eight hours Mady is caught in a maze of deception, having to deal with violent gangsters who will do anything to retrieve their money.

One thing that should be noted is that the music of Petula Clark plays an important part in the film. It's been years since I've listened to her. When I was young she was the only pop singer that I respected. I just found out that Amazon Music has 102 of her albums! Maybe some of them are compilation albums, but it's still a lot.

It's the first film made by the Belgian director Michiel Blanchart. It's a remarkable achievement for a new director. We can expect much from him in future years.