Product Description The Budapest subway system, the world's second oldest, is a dark, labyrinthine netherworld as vast and various as the city above it. Of the hoards of people who can be found there, most are passing through on their ways to better, brighter places, where the sunlight shines and fresh breezes blow. But, there are those who spend most of their lives underground - the beleaguered ticket inspectors or "controllers", who are assigned in teams to various sections of the system, and whose thankless job it is to ensure that no passengers ride without paying. Deployed by those in control - unseen authority figures who monitor the trains and travelers on massive grids and screens - these inspector teams are a much-despised lot. Who, on his way to work or to an appointment, wants to be stopped and asked for a receipt? And who, having sneaked through a turnstile, wants to be apprehended by petty officers who represent power at its most powerless? .com The setting of Kontroll is the Budapest subway system, one of the largest and oldest in the world, and a place that becomes an omniscient character in an ambitious film that jumbles dark comedy, slick action, and horror-movie conventions. The other main character is Bulcsú (Sándor Csányi), part of a team of disheveled ticket inspectors--controllers--who roam the grimy, fluorescent-lit city-under-the-city in a soul-destroying ritual. The job has become such a part of Bulcsú that he never leaves the underground. He has taken to sleeping on empty platforms and getting progressively more unkempt as he accumulates more bruises, bloody noses, and bitterness from his scraps with a variety of unseemly creatures of the night (and day). Among the post-punk, post-communist habitués of this subterranean metropolis are a cute girl in a teddy-bear suit, a rival gang of ticket inspectors who like to play a deadly game of chicken with express trains, and a hooded specter who may or may not be pushing people under subway wheels at crowded stops. First-time director Nimród Antal keenly juggles black comedy, character types, and genre styles, making the most of the weird angles and inherent dark creepiness of his chosen backdrop. Kontroll keeps pace as a hip, flashy, fast-moving set piece by any international measure. --Ted Fry
N**N
Excellent and Unique
This film has hillarious characters but I would not classify it as a comedy. This piece kind of exists on its own plane. It has an "in your face" feel of the characters (reminicent of "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels") but they are in some fantasy underground subway world.Kontroll follows a group of ticket collectors who seems to spend no time above ground. Especially the main character, who sleeps in the terminal and doesn't look to have seen sunlight in too long a time. The whole theme of being underground is very metaphorical. Many characters are symbolic in ways too.It is quite a dreampiece, but not too fantastic. We go odd places and meet the denizens of the underground. Some people are kind, others you wouldn't want to be alone with. Especially one mysterious character who stalks the underground and shoves people down to the tracks and to their deaths.Kontroll has an interesting pace to it. It's fast, but not too fast. It moves like a subway would. Quickly, then a short stop, then moving on again.I really felt a warmth towards this film. It is oddly touching at times, hillarious at others. All the characters are well thought out and well acted. It is well balanced, complete and left me feeling positive.
S**K
Do you know who I am? I'm the the Controll!
"Kontroll" follows the story of a rag-tag group of controllers who's job is to stalk the vast Budapest subway system and ensure that no passengers are rideing for free. The leader of this group is Bulcsu', a man who's anxiety of compition for his contracting job has lead him underground. Where he stays 24/7, never ventureing above ground. The film does an excellent job of depicting the controllers interactions with the subway riders. The controllers meet everyone from the needle wielding madman to a girl in a teddybear costume, who Bulcsu stikes up an endearing romance. The funniest parts of the film are when the controllers encounter "Bootsey", a young punk who gets his kicks by tormenting Bulcsu's gang. This leads to some of the best "On foot" chase scenes I've seen. The main plot of the film is when the Controllers discover that a mysterious hooded figure is pushing people infront of trains. When Bulcsu is suspected of comiting these murders, he decides to go on a hunt for the hooded one to prove his innocence. or is it a hunt for self discovery? This is truely a great movie and one of my personal favorites. It has wonderful cinamatography, colorful characters and an amazing soundtrack. enjoy
D**T
Bit of a cat and mouse. You're the mouse.
My thought as I came towards the end of this, was how adroitly this combined drama and comedy.Well cast all around; the main guy knocked it out of the park, charismatic fellow.Takes every fork in the road, mostly agreeably.People are being pushed away. To their death.Instead, resort to hiding, though they say you can't but you can run.Can one come out of hiding?If you think you might hold the length against you, have an intermission. The soundtrack is above average, especially some Milesish trumpet work.
L**R
Superior Film, Mediocre DVD
Kontroll is simply fantastic, as you can already tell from the other reviews; I'm just writing to warn that *this* DVD has absolutely no special features.The Hungarian version has two discs, anamorphic transfer (lacking in the version offered here), and plenty of special features (including deleted scenes, short behind-the-scenes feature, and two entire short films by director Nimrod Antal).Don't worry about the fact that it's the Hungarian version, the film still offers subtitles in a few languages including, naturally, English. Also, virtually all of the extras have English subtitles.I don't know why that edition is not easily available in the States, and I haven't found any good seller of the 2-disc version yet, so if you don't care about special features, the one-disc U.S. version is fine. =) Hopefully Amazon.com will pick up an Americanized 2-disc set eventually.
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