Black-haired, big-eyed, lithe-limbed, soft-spoken and kind at heart: Chantal is all a world-weary road warrior might be looking for and more. Pardon my agitation, but I just fell totally in love with Fanny Mallette, the French-Canadian actress who plays Chantal, the night-shift receptionist at the roadside hotel that is the quiet center of "Continental". But worry not: she is only one of many attractions in this melancholic movie. Outrageously sad and strange as the events we witness may seem, in total they ring surprisingly true and closely resemble that greatest miracle of all: so-called real life. There is very little dialog, but you don't really miss it. Rookie director Stéphane Lafleur is so good at setting the mood with lights, camera, and action that his script works almost without words. I keep wondering though whether the eerie sound that marks both the beginning and the end of this episodic film is a ring tone imitating a night owl, or a night owl imitating a ring tone.
