Kontroll (2003)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2003
	Director: Nimród Antal (Predators, Metallica Through the Never)
	Actors: Sándor Csányi, Eszter Balla, Zoltán Mucsi
	Country: H
	Genre: Thriller, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 22.10.2013, DVD, Home cinema
Synopsis: The daily life of ticket controllers in a fictionnal Budapest subway.
Review: I thought I had seen Kontroll at the Munich Fantasy Filmfest in 2003 or 2004 but I cannot find it in the archive, so I may have seen it at a regular screening then. I remember having had a good impression of it, the movie partly influenced my decision to go to Budapest for New-year's eve 2009, and then I bought the DVD to enjoy the movie again afterwards. The image quality of this British DVD is very poor, but hopefully it doesn't impact the special atmosphere of the movie, and the sound quality is quite good which is important as the music is great. The movie is hard to described. It starts with a statement from the Budapest Subway authorities that the movie is not representative of their real work! Then it oscillated between comedy (the controllers are a bunch of crazy freaks) and surrealist underground life. By the way we never see the outside world, which was a risky but rewarding choice. There are many things that are not said about the background of the characters but only suggested, to the best effect. The underground life of the main character can be interpreted in different ways: Is he in a purgatory? Is this why he can't find the exit? Who is this evil twin of his? The ending is quite open and could leave some viewers unsatisfied, but I found it was fitting with the rest of the movie. No wonder that Antal was recruited by Hollywood after this movie, but maybe he should come back to smaller productions to show us the talent he was already displaying in Kontroll.
Rating: 8 /10