Themes: Serial Killers, Dangerous Friends, Mind Games
Main Cast: Sándor Csányi, Zoltan Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch, Sandor Badar, Zsolt Nagy
Release Year: 2004
Country: HU
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
For his feature debut, L.A.-born Hungary resident Nimród Antal made Kontroll, a farcical look at the Budapest subway system, about the crazy ticket agents who earn their living there and the hostile citizens they deal with on a daily basis. At the center of it all is Bulcsú (Sándor Csányi), a quiet fellow who leads his ragtag crew that includes the Professor (Zoltán Mucsi), the nagging, burned-out elder of the group; Muki (Csaba Pindroch), the goofy narcoleptic; the disheveled Lecsó (Sándor Badár); and the naïvely gung-ho new guy, Tibi (Zsolt Nagy). Bulcsú and his guys can't compete with the likes of Gonzó's (Balázs Mihályfi) top-notch crew, who gets all the perks and the best assignments. They're more concerned with just getting through each day in one piece, and it isn't always easy. In addition to the annoyed riders who bicker over having to show their tickets and passes, there's Bootsie (Bence Mátyássy), an energetic young man who plays pranks on the agents and runs very fast, and Sofie (Eszter Balla), the odd young woman who shows up on the train in a bear costume everyday and never pays her fare. Worst of all, there's a dark and mysterious figure who's been pushing unsuspecting riders in front of oncoming trains with predictably grisly results. His superiors begin to suspect Bulcsú when they realize he's been living in the system, spending his nights sleeping on the platforms, and never venturing above ground. Kontroll won Le Prix de la Jeunesse at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It was also selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
Nimród Antal's Kontroll is set in the subterranean nightmare world of Budapest's subway system, where hapless petty bureaucrats (Kontroll's "heroes") harass the public to earn their meager, thankless living. Aside from its unique underworld milieu (the film was shot on location, as a deadpan intro disclaims), there's nothing especially original about Antal's film, but the filmmaker's surfeited movie love shines through in its playful allusions to other films, and in its skillful mix of grunge and slickness. Beyond that, the film offers a potently downbeat metaphor for a decent, honorable man's struggles against the essentially soulless nature of bureaucracy. Sándor Csányi, as Bulcsú, makes an agreeable antihero. Csányi is darkly handsome, but his performance captures an underlying edge of feckless hostility (visually abetted by the physical wounds he incurs over the course of the film) that makes him simultaneously sympathetic and untrustworthy. Gleefully, guiltlessly borrowing a good deal of its sardonic wit and its propulsive visual style, Kontroll is the type of movie that film geeks love to "discover." The Los Angeles-born Antal shows promise with this dexterous debut. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Cast
Sándor Csányi - Bulcsú
Zoltan Mucsi - Professor
Csaba Pindroch - Muki
Sandor Badar - Lecsó
Zsolt Nagy - Tibi
György Cserhalmi - Big Boss; Janos Derzsi - Last Passenger; Lajos Kovács - Béla; Eniko Eszenyi - Drunken Woman; Janos Kulka - Feri; Jozsef Toth - Robert; Gyozo Szabo - Shadow; Zsolt László - Nub; Bence Mátyássy - Bootsie; Eszter Balla - Sofie; Szabo Gyozo - Arnyek; Balázs Mihályfi - Gonzó; Peter Scherer - Supervisor; Laszlo Nadasi - Laci; Karoly Horvath - Tamas; Laszlo Bicskei Kis Kis - Doki; Balazs Lazar - Big Guy; Melinda Volgyi - Woman With Big Breasts
Credit
Csaba Eröss - Boom Operator, Veronika Varjasi - Casting, János Breckl - Costume Designer, Laszlo Janicsek - First Assistant Director, Nimród Antal - Director, István Király - Editor, Brigitta Szabo - Hair Styles, Tamás Guba - Location Manager, Neo - Composer (Music Score), Ernella Hortobagyi - Makeup Special Effects, Balazs Hujber - Production Designer, Gyula Pados - Cinematographer, Karoly Feher - Production Manager, Tamás Hutlassa - Producer, Nimród Antal - Producer, Róbert Juhász - Sound Editor, Attila Madaras - Sound Recordist, Balazs Farkas - Stunts, Gabor Piroch - Stunts, Bela Gerner - Stunts, Krisztian Koranyi - Stunts, Istvan Akos Sinko - Stunts, Ferenc Szabo - Stunts, Laszlo Bicskei Kis Kis - Stunts Coordinator, Eszter Fixek - Unit Production Manager, Nimród Antal - Screenwriter, Krisztina Kelemen - Screenwriter, Adam Kliegl - First Assistant Camera, Jozsef Marton - Gaffer, Eszter Kerekes - Production Coordinator, Peter Ujvari - Properties, Tamas Tamasi - Properties Master, Marcell Balint - Second Assistant Director, Ferenc Deak - Electrician, Zoltán Jánossa - Second Assistant Camera, Tamas Janossa - Second Assistant Camera, Zsolt Elias - Video Assist
Kontroll is a Hungariancomedy-thriller released to theatres in 2003. Shown internationally, mainly in art house theatres, the film is a darkly comic thriller set on the Budapest Metro.
"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 main character of the story is Bulcsú (Sándor Csányi), who spends his life in the Metro of Budapest, checking tickets. He eats and sleeps underground and never sees the sunlight. He is a member of a ticket inspector team (the others are played by Zoltán Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch and Sándor Badár). His team struggles to check riders' tickets because people resent them. Among the ticket inspectors on the same shift there is a conflict between Bulcsú's team and another team. Bulcsú is challenged to "rail running" by this other team's leader. "Rail running" is an event similar to the running of the bulls. Once the last passenger train leaves the station, the contenders must run through the tunnels and exit before the last 'express' train, which does not stop at any station. Bulcsú exits the tunnel first with his opponent close behind. Bulcsú pulls the opponent off the track just in time to prevent the train running over him.
While Bulcsú is on a ticket inspection, he meets a woman, Sofie (Eszter Balla), who is dressed as a bear and never buys a ticket for the metro. Bulcsú falls in love with Sofie, and later he discovers that she is the daughter of his good friend Béla (Lajos Kovács), a metro driver (the family of public transport workers don't need to buy tickets in Hungary). Béla drinks; he used to drive trains on the surface until he crashed a train due to lack of braking distance.
Deaths start occurring in the Metro, with passengers and bystanders seemingly leaping into the path of the oncoming trains. At first the characters think the victims are suicidal jumpers. The audience, however, and later Bulcsú see that the deaths are caused by someone, or something, pushing each victim onto the tracks right before a train comes. The identity of the murderer is never known.
When Bulcsú is chasing a troublesome passenger, nicknamed "Bootsie", the murderer pushes Bootsie in front of a train. Bulcsú is suspected of the crime, which leads to him quitting his job. While brooding and in despair he is attacked by the murderer. He has to run for his life on the rails. In the end, the train apparently hits the murderer, and Bulcsú leaves the underground hand in hand with Sofie. Every staircase of the escalator is moving upwards.
