RATING: A-

A Temporama Production. Written and directed by Luka Marcetic. Produced by Andraz Jeric and Jerca Jeric. Cinematography by Lev Predan Kowarski. Editing by Spela Murenc.

Stars Urban Kuntaric, Lara Wolf, Rok Rodui, Nejc Jezernik, Doroteja Nadrah, Maja Sever, and Marko Mandic.

A young man’s life is about to get turned upside down when he meets a mysterious woman in Luka Marcetic’s dark comedy. 

Rok is a young man who has a little problem. He’s a kleptomaniac, but the most he does in terms of stealing is take chocolate bars from his job at a gas station convenience store. On top of that, his two roommates don’t seem to know what Rok is like or what he likes. One night, a mysterious woman comes into the store. She has a bruised face, and Rok finds himself instantly enthralled by her tough core and demeanor.

One night, Rok discovers the young woman has a deep cut on her head. When he attempts to ask his roommates to teach him to sew, they refuse and he learns on his own. When he offers to stitch her up, he decides to do something crazy to attract her attention. He steals her bike, her only mode of transportation. Convincing her that someone else stole her bike, they go on a wild goose chase to find the thief, unbeknownst to her that her new partner-in-vigilantism is the one who actually did it!

This was quite a fascinating film from writer/director Luka Marcetic that has two seemingly unlikeable protagonists who end up, to the viewer, becoming somewhat likable because these are two people who have some serious issues and feelings of loneliness, which connects them in a way. What is even more interesting is that these two are completely stone-faced throughout the film, rarely showing any signs of emotion. 

Urban Kuntaric’s Rok seems to feel lonely, and his only outlet is to steal the chocolate bars from work under the nose of his co-worker Kristina, played by Maja Sever. You can tell he has this sense when he gets a birthday surprise from his roommates Kremen and Nik, played respectively by Rok Roudi and Nejc Jezernik, who are oblivious to his nature. They seem to rather talk about their vegan lifestyle and even go as far as to refuse to help him learn how to sew. As the film progresses, there are subtle hints that the trio’s relationship begins to slightly improve. 

Lara Wolf is excellent in the titular role, whose name is never known. We just know her by the title of the movie. From the moment she appears on screen, she brings a sense of mystery as she comes across with a bruised face. Upon learning she is one who fights injustice and we get to see her in two fights, one with Rok witnessing and the other Rok attempts to help but even he proves to be unreliable. The first fight involves the girl and her “friend” Darja but the second is a nicely shot long shot of the girl taking on two men and despite Rok’s attempts to help, she beats them. The final fifteen minutes prove to be jaw-dropping with the final moments showing something unbelievably shocking. 

Girl in the Night is a fantastic look at two obviously lonely people who come together due to one’s actions and ends in a chaotic few nights for these two. Luka Marcetic does a great job with the story, driven by the performances by Urban Kuntaric and Lara Wolf in the titular role. 

The film is currently playing at Fantastic Fest.