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Night Call (film)

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Night Call
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa nuit se traîne
Directed byMichiel Blanchart
Screenplay by
Produced by
  • Michaël Goldberg
  • Boris Van Gils
Starring
CinematographySylvestre Vannoorenberghe
Edited byMatthieu Jamet-Louis
Music byTanguy Destable
Production
companies
  • Boucan Productions
  • Quad Films
Distributed by
  • Lumière (Belgium)
  • Gaumont (France)
Release dates
  • 18 June 2024 (2024-6-18) (Biarritz Film Festival)
  • 28 August 2024 (2024-8-28) (France)
  • 4 September 2024 (2024-9-4) (Belgium)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Belgium
  • France
LanguageFrench[2]
Box office$679,409[3]

Night Call (French: La nuit se traîne) is a 2024 action thriller film[4] directed by Michiel Blanchart in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gilles Marchand.[5] Set over the course of a night amid a Black Lives Matter protest in Belgium, a young locksmith is called for nocturnal assignment that plunges him into danger. It stars Jonathan Feltre, Natacha Krief, Jonas Bloquet, Thomas Mustin, and Romain Duris. The film is an international co-production between Belgium and France.

Night Call had its world premiere as the opening film in International Competition at the Biarritz Film Festival - Nouvelles Vagues on 18 June 2024, where it won the Audience Award. It was released theatrically in France by Gaumont on 28 August 2024, and in Belgium by Lumière on 4 September 2024. It received eleven nominations at the 14th Magritte Awards, winning ten, including Best Film, Best First Feature Film, and Best Director for Blanchart, holding the record for the most Magritte Awards won by a single film.[6]

Cast

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Production

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Night Call marks the directorial debut of Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart, who wrote the screenplay in collaboration with French filmmaker Gilles Marchand.[7]

A co-production between Belgium and France, the film was produced by Michaël Goldberg for Boucan Productions and Boris Van Gils for Formosa, with co-production by Margaux Marciano and Nicolas Duval Adassovsky for Quad. Additional co-producers include Gaumont, France 3 Cinéma, RTL, VOO, BeTV, and Proximus. The production was also supported by Canal+ and the Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, and Eurimages.[8]

Filming

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Principal photography took place in Brussels and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Belgium for 35 days between March and April 2023.[8][9][10]

Release

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Night Call was the opening film at the Biarritz Film Festival - Nouvelles Vagues in Biarritz, France on 18 June 2024, where it had its world premiere in the International Competition section.[11]

The film was released theatrically in France by Gaumont on 28 August 2024, and was released in Belgium by Lumière on 4 September 2024.[8]

In May 2024, Magnet Releasing acquired North American distribution rights to the film.[12]

Reception

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Box office

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In Belgium, Night Call surpassed 30,000 admissions, making it one of the most-watched Belgian films of 2024.[13] Romain Pirard from Moustique magazine considered it a notable performance compared to the previous cinematic season in the country, citing the top three Belgian films of 2023—Omen (14,270 admissions), Love According to Dalva (11,678 admissions), and The Jolly Forgers (10,864 admissions)—all of which recorded lower numbers.[14] Pirard also noted that Night Call's strong reception demonstrates the potential of national productions from Belgium to attract a wide audience.[14]

Critical response

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Night Call received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website AlloCiné assigned the film a weighted average score of 3.4 out of 5, based on 24 critics.[15] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[16]

Ben Gibbons from Screen Rant gave it four stars out of five, praising the film for imbuing a typical action-thriller premise with creativity and deeper meaning. He remarked, "It's not a movie about spies and highly skilled fighters; it's a story about a dark and occasionally terrifying world."[17] Murtada Elfadl from Variety stated that the film not only delivers an entertaining action adventure but introduces a director who brings a modern spin to the genre, addressing topical issues and distinguishing itself from typical action fare.[18]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Belgian Film Critics Association 13 December 2024 Best Film Won [19]
Biarritz Film Festival - Nouvelles Vagues 22 June 2024 Grand Prix Nominated [11]
Audience Award Won
Magritte Awards 22 February 2025 Best Film Won [6]
Best Director Michiel Blanchart Won
Best Screenplay Won
Best Supporting Actor Jonas Bloquet Won
Thomas Mustin Nominated
Best First Feature Film Won
Best Cinematography Sylvestre Vannoorenberghe Won
Best Sound David Vranken, David Gillain, Joey Van Impe, Thibaud Rie,
Fabrice Grizard, Antoine Wattier, and Vincent Gregorio 		Won
Best Production Design Catherine Cosme Won
Best Costume Design Isabel Van Renterghem Won
Best Editing Matthieu Jamet-Louis Won

References

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  1. ^ "La nuit se traîne | Visas et Classification". CNC.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Night Call | Biarritz Film Festival". Biarritz Film Festival. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Night Call (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  4. ^ Croll, Ben (22 June 2024). "Belgian Filmmaker Michiel Blanchart on His Action Thriller 'Night Call' Set Amid Black Lives Matter Protest in Belgium". Variety.
  5. ^ Lorcet, Camille (18 August 2024). ""La nuit se traîne" de Michiel Blanchart: recherche chaos désespérément". Chaos Reign (in French).
  6. ^ a b "'La nuit se traîne' triomphe aux Magritte avec 10 récompenses, un record". L'Echo (in French). 23 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  7. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (28 August 2024). "Gaumont's Thriller 'Night Call' Sells Nearly Worldwide as it Opens in French Theaters (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Engelen, Aurore (21 April 2023). "Michiel Blanchart shoots his feature debut, La nuit se traine". Cineuropa.
  9. ^ "La nuit se traine". Screen Brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  10. ^ "La nuit se traine". ScriptOclap (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b ""Night Call" wins Audience Award in Biarritz!". WB Images. 24 June 2024. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (23 May 2024). "Magnet Releasing Takes North America On Michiel Blanchart Thriller 'Night Call'". Deadline Hollywood.
  13. ^ "Le thriller d'action "La nuit se traîne" dépasse les 30 000 entrées dans les salles belges" (in French). BX1. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  14. ^ a b Pirard, Romain (30 September 2024). "Succès du thriller belge 'La nuit se traîne': 30.000 entrées et une lueur d'espoir pour le cinéma belge". Moustique (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  15. ^ "Critiques presse pour le film La nuit se traîne". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Night Call". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  17. ^ Gibbons, Ben (17 January 2025). "Night Call Review: I'm Amazed By How This Crime Drama Took A Simple Story & Made It So Meaningful & Tense". Screen Rant. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  18. ^ Elfadl, Murtada (17 January 2025). "'Night Call' Review: Brutal Belgian Survive-the-Night Thriller Hits Hardest With Cutting Social Commentary". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  19. ^ "Le Prix Cavens attribué ex aequo à 'La nuit se traîne' et 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat'". La Dernière Heure (in French). 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
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