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Kontroll
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Wikipedia article
'Kontroll' is a 2003 Hungarian comedythriller film. Shown internationally, mainly in art house theatres, the film is set on a fictionalized version of the Budapest Metro system. "Kontroll" in Hungarian refers to the act of ticket inspectors checking to ensure a rider has paid their fare. The story revolves around the ticket inspectors, riders, and a possible killer.
The film was written and directed by Nimrd Antal and stars Sndor Csnyi, Zoltn Mucsi, and Csaba Pindroch. The film was entered in a number of film festivals in Europe and North America. It won the Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It was also Hungary's submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2004 Academy Awards.
Plot
Bulcs (Sndor Csnyi) is a ticket inspector on the Budapest Metro; he spends his nights sleeping on the train platforms, and hasn't left the underground ever since he started working there. His ragtag team of inspectors consisting of the veteran Professzor (Zoltn Mucsi), the disheveled Lecs (Sndor Badr), neurotic narcoleptic Muki (Csaba Pindroch) and dimwitted greenhorn Tibi (Zsolt Nagy) is routinely disrespected and assaulted by the commuters, who continue to evade paying fines in a variety of ways.
One of Bulcs's company rivals, model employee Gonz (Balzs Mihlyfi) challenges him to a "rail run": after the last metro leaves a station, the two get on the tracks and try to make it to the next station on foot before the midnight maintenance carriage runs them over. Bulcs wins the contest, barely saving Gonz who wets himself as a result of the run. During a routine inspection, he is enamored by a girl dressed in a bear suit called Zsfi (Eszter Balla), the daughter of one of the veteran metro drivers, Bla (Lajos Kovcs). In another occasion, Bulcs unsuccessfully attempts to talk to his colleague Laci (Lszl Ndasi) after Laci gets into an altercation with a passenger and takes him hostage; Laci exclaims he can't take it anymore and slits the passenger's throat.
After chasing a repeat offending prankster called Bootsie (Gyalogkakukk, lit. 'Road Runner' in the Hungarian original; Bence Mtyssy), Bulcs witnesses him being pushed on the tracks by a hooded figure, dressed in exactly the same attire as him; another incident in a long line of what people thought were apparent suicides. Because of his recurring nightmare of this figure, Bulcs fails to apprehend the murderer, and when he's brought to questioning, he refuses to disclose details of the incident to the lead executive (Gyrgy Cserhalmi) of the company. When the executive threatens to disclose the video footage of the incident, which only shows Bulcs, he resigns his job. Muki later insinuates him being the murderer, citing his continual nightly absence and accusing him of having the same mental issues as Laci did; an infuriated Bulcs almost pushes him on the tracks as well.
During an underground costume party, Bulcs spots and follows the hooded figure and they get into an altercation, after which they start rail running similarly to the contest with Gonz earlier. Bulcs manages to outrun the hooded figure and escape the train. The hooded figure never emerges from the tracks. Bulcs then meets Zsfi, who is now dressed as a butterfly, and the two finally emerge back to the surface.
Cast
* Sndor Csnyi as Bulcs
* Zoltn Mucsi as Professor
* Csaba Pindroch as Muki
* Sndor Badr as Lecs
* Zsolt Nagy as Tibi
* Bence Mtyssy as Bootsie
* Gyz Szab as Shadow
* Eszter Balla as Zsfi
* Lajos Kovcs as Bla
Production
Antal was influenced by Andrei Tarkovsky, Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam, Martin Scorsese, and Takeshi Kitano.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 82% of 66 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7/10. The site's consensus reads: "'Kontroll' is a smart thriller that's dark, gritty, and funny." Metacritic rated it 72/100 based on 25 critics. American film critic Roger Ebert rated it 3.5/4 stars and wrote, "Antal has a feeling for action, but what distinguishes 'Kontroll' is his control of characters and mood." Ebert compared the film's setting and atmosphere to that of a post-apocalyptic science fiction film.
See also
* List of Hungarian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
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