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29 October 2014
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Kontroll
15Kontroll (2004)

updated 13 September 2004
reviewer's rating
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Matthew Leyland


Director
Nimród Antal
Writer
Nimród Antal
Jim Adler
Stars
Sándor Csányi
Zoltán Mucsi
Csaba Pindroch
Sándor Badár
Zsolt Nagy
Length
110 minutes
Distributor
ICA
Cinema
17 September 2004
Country
USA
Genre
Thriller
World Cinema
Web Links




Going Underground has never been as vivid and intriguing as it is in Kontroll, a Hungarian black comedy cum killer thriller set in the Budapest subway system. Its anti-hero is Bulscú (Sándor Csányi), one of a group of oddball ticket inspectors who've got more than fare dodgers to worry about: there's a hooded nutter in their midst shoving passengers onto the tracks. Smoothly switching gears between the surreal and the everyday, this is as unpredictable as the Northern Line but offers a much more memorable ride.

The film's dark, dank setting may be claustrophobic - like the brooding Bulscu, we never leave the subway - but there's plenty of room for first-time writer-director Nimród Antal to flex his varied talents. He's got a nose for off-the-wall comedy, milking laughs from the embattled inspectors' endless petty tussles with customers ranging from pimps to Japanese tourists. (There's a chucklesome visit to the psychiatrist's office as well.) But he also does excitement: one of the stand-out scenes, worthy of a topline Hollywood actioner, features the extreme sport of 'railing', where combatants attempt to outrun the hurtling Midnight Express.

"AN ASSURANCE YOU DON'T OFTEN GET IN A DEBUT"

What Antal does best of all, though, is atmosphere, creating a self-contained universe that's simultaneously recognisable and otherworldly. Home to both devils and angels - such as bear-costumed train driver's daughter Szofi (Eszter Balla) - this subterranean realm is strikingly shot in cold but arresting hues.

Equally attention-grabbing is the pounding techno-rock score by music outfit Neo, which typically amplifies but occasionally intrudes on the action. Such mis-steps are rare, though, in a movie made with the kind of vision and assurance you don't often get in a debut. In an unexpected touch, the picture opens with a representative of the Budapest Public Transport Company heaping praise on Antal. A hundred or so minutes later, you will be too.

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

Find out more about "Kontroll" at



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