Customer Reviews

Kontroll

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bulscu (Sándor Csányi) works in the Budapest Metro as a ticket checker, an enforcer: he makes sure that people have a ticket to ride the subway and cites them when they don't. From what is on view in Nimrod Antal's provocative and eerie "Kontroll" it seems like most people don't pay and Bulscu and his group get involved in a lot of fist fights and chases in trying to uphold the rules of the underground. As his sorta-girfriend says: "Everyone hates you."
"Kontroll" is interesting on several fronts. First of all, it is a Hungarian film directed by an American originally from Hungary...and when was the last time you saw a Hungarian film? Secondly, it is masterfully directed, photographed and staged in the bowels of the Budapest underground metro, which naturally gives the film credence and atmosphere that would not have been possible to reconstruct in any studio set. Thirdly, along with Csanyi's evocative performance as the troubled and conflicted Bulscu, we are introduced to many fine Hungarian actors and actresses who help to make this film the success that it is.
Csanyi has the uncanny ability to be strong and intelligent (it is strongly hinted that he was an architect before joining the "underworld") yet he is very much afraid of the world that the escalators up to street level represent. He is of the world but hiding from it and we are not sure why... and this ambiguity strengthens rather than weakens his basic nature because it humanizes him.
"Kontroll" is one of those rare films that not only succeeds on its own artistic terms but also stands as an anthropological document of a country that is undergoing rapid, unencumbered social and political change.

Many people have already written about what this film is about so I will not say any more on that. I will state simply that this is a wonderful film, one of my favorites from 2005 (the year it played in my local theater), and it is exciting, thought provoking, and often very funny. I went into it originally knowing almost nothing about it and was delighted at what I saw. So much so that I went to see it a second time later in the week before it was gone.

All of that said I was thrilled to get it on DVD. But my thrill turned to slight disappointment when I realized that not only was it a barebones DVD as far as extras go (there are absolutely no extras at all), and not only were the subtitles burned into the image (i.e. non-removable), but it was also a non-anamorphic transfer. In fact the only saving grace for this disc (besides the exceptional film) is that the burned in subtitles are over the film image rather than the black letterboxing. This means that when played on a widescreen TV, and zoomed in to fill the entire screen (to compensate for it not being anamorphic) the subtitles are clearly readable and do not get cut off. But it is completely unforgivable for ANY DVD to be released in the year 2005 with a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer, and burned in subtitles. Unforgivable. And on top of that the film is not inexpensive by any means. Amazon sells it for $24.99 (at the time of this writing), and I purchased it in store for about $28. If it was any other film I would have returned it if at all possible, and been a lot more scathing in my review. But since I absolutely love this film I can only be disappointed that it received about the worst possible DVD release it could get. The only thing that could have made it worse would be if it was only available in a so called "fullscreen" version and not widescreen at all. But having averted that absolute catastrophe scenario they settled on the next worst DVD release they could manage. I'm considering tracking down a much better foreign version I've heard about.

(UPDATE EDIT) Since writing me review I have noticed that the price of this DVD has significantly dropped. As of now (December 2008) it is only $7.99 on Amazon. Taking this into account I can more highly recommend the DVD even given the overwhelming lack of quality presentation I talk about in the review. Sure it is still a shame that this excellent film wasn't presented better on it's DVD, but not as big of a shame as it was when it originally cost $28. This movie, even given this shamefully lackluster DVD release, is well worth $7.99.

Part humorous gross out film (lots of pissing, vomiting, bleeding, spitting and tooth-picking), part Alice in Wonderland homage (complete with a giant fuzzy bear leading the protagonist down into the subway caves) and part psych 101 character study, Kontroll does not succeed on all these levels, but it sure is a fun ride.

SImply put, it's about one person escaping their self-imposed personal hell by beating death (literally) before death gets him. Throw in a some terrific acting, an arresting score of songs and brilliant film composition, and you have "Angel Heart" meets "The Taking of Pelham 123."

For the people on Netflix & Amazon who want to know the theme song's identity (because there are no music credits & no score CD), it's the lead singer of UK group, Moloko, Roisin Muphy's "Sinking Feelikng" from her brilliant 2005 solo CD, "Ruby Blue."

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.

Ever since I condemned myself to riding the subway to and from my job 5 days a week for 8 ghastly years until I came to my senses and left Manhattan, subways have always struck me as a man-made hell. That's what the main character of this genuinely different film from Hungary has banished himself to: A hellish subway inspector's job in a nightmare hole in the ground from which he can escape merely by hopping on an escalator and riding up into the light, but it takes him 105 minutes of screen time to decide to do it.

Be honest with you, it felt more like 205 minutes to me while I was watching it. Time doesn't exactly fly by in a nightmare of the type where you keep running and running and don't seem to get anywhere while the Thing that's on your tail keeps advancing on you. To stop such a nightmare, it often takes becoming the hunter instead of the hunted, going after the monster and leading it into a trap instead of allowing it to terrorize you until you're too weak to run anymore.

Don't know quite what the protagonist's problem is in "Kontroll," or which monkey he's got on his back, or why he's banished himself to an impossible job he hates and for which he is hated, or what he fears about the light, but for 80% of this movie I was fascinated because his problem is everybody's problem. His story is Everyman's and Everywoman's story who's had to come to terms with mortality. "Kontroll" has a few amusing moments, sure, but a comedy it isn't.

The film's pacing should have been much tighter, but the acting is almost uniformly superb, with the leading male actor a mesmerizing standout. I could have done without the simpering female lead in the teddy bear suit; mesmerizing, she isn't, though perhaps she just needs a stronger director. The soundtrack is terrific. The photography of the Budapest subway system is breathtaking (and somewhat heartbreaking). The Hungarian language spoken is rich and fertile, and the subtitles are never obtrusive.

5 stars for concept, content, and acting. 3 stars for directing. All in all, a 4-star, highly unusual film well worth seeing, even if it is 20% longer than it needs to be.

I'm writing this over a year after i saw the DVD. I can't remember with detail the plot, or technical details, but i know i will never forget this movie.

In a way it's like fight club. The first time i saw it, it created intense internal feelings, that up until today i have issues classifying.

If you believe that movies ought to be able to move you, to make you feel something, than you need to watch this movie. It is a must see.

I saw this film theatrically, and it's a wonderful, New Wave story of a group of misfit ticket collectors in the Budapest metro system. However, its groundbreaking combination of music and imagery is totally lost on Thinkfilm's worthless DVD, which dumps a crappy 4:3 transfer into viewers' laps as if there hadn't been any advances in the eight years that DVD has been around. Add to that non-removable subtitles, a two-channel stereo soundtrack (the theatrical feature was a lively 5.1) and no extras, and you have a DVD throwback to public domain titles of 1997. Rent it or see it in theatres. Don't buy it.

Honestly, I can't say I've seen a story quite like this. It seems like a mixture of the subway scenes in Ghost with a bit of the type of story Neil Gaiman would like.

A young man works and lives in the Budapest underground subway system, unable to leave until he purges himself of some mysterious past and defeats evil. In likelihood, this is a parable about personal hell and the ongoing fight between good and evil. It is scattered with wise sages, owls, rival gangs, and a woman in a bear suit.

On a more literal level, it presents a group of people with one of the worst jobs in the world. "Everyone hates us," is true as they work day by day to check tickets and everyone from the common person to the aristocrats and pimps give them sass and refuse to work with them. The pure discomfort of that line of work is presented very strongly, leaving it somewhat difficult for the viewer to remain simply comfortable while watching the movie.

In terms of quality, it seems to go all over the spectrum from really gripping to ho-hum. For a long time despite its overall entertainment value it doesn't really seem to have much going on with it, until the end. This would be one I'd suggest you stick out to the end, even if you're not liking it initially. It should pay off.

--PolarisDiB

THE PREMISE: The protagonist Bulscu (played by Sándor Csányi who reminded me of Chris Noth -- "Mr. Big" in Sex In The City) is an attractive, yet conflicted young man working as a conductor in the Budapest subway system. As with many European transit systems, entry is on the honor system -- each passenger is supposed to buy a proper ticket, but there are no entrance gates or barriers. Bulscu is a member of an enforcement team who rides the rails and spot checks that passengers hold proper tickets or are otherwise entitled to ride. In spite of having had a successful career up on the surface, Bulscu hides from something -- living, leeping,remaining underground.
THE FILM: Shot completely in the Budapest subway system, the film depicts Bulscu's community -- people who travel, work, eat, rest, party and even have sex underground -- and his own private hell: Russian mobsters, gang members, co-workers ranging from macho-idiot rivals to narcoleptics, plus other assorted madness and mayhem. Hopefully, this is a hyperbolic commentary on the social upheaval endured by rapidly-changing Eastern block countries.
THE AMBIGUITIES: "Kontroll" presents a fast-moving and occasionally-humorous, eerie twilight world of endless tunnels and light-deprivation, where one can't be entirely sure who are the good guys and the bad guys. Unlike Hollywood's simplistic story formulas, "Kontroll" leaves lots of ambiguity: is there a psychotic murderer pushing victims onto the tracks? is there an inner demon turning Bulscu into a push-happy murderer? is death making a phantom appearance forcing our protagonist to face his own mortality? will his love interest tempt Bulscu to venture back up and out into the light and life? I won't ruin the "ending," but if this were typical Hollywood crap, there are enough loose ends to make for "Kontroll 2," Return To Kontroll," "Revisiting Kontroll" and so on.
THE NET: I enjoyed it immensely on a number of levels -- artistic, social commentary, visuals, and pure entertainment -- and suggest you will too. It's certainly worth a rental at least.

Even if you have never actually ridden on one of those amazing steep, deep, and dangerously fast Budapest Metro escalators that swoop you down from street level deep into their subway system, I urge you to take a virtual journey into an imaginative and quirky cinematic world every bit as fantastic as Alice's adventures "underground."

This film is a funny and funky thriller but certainly has very little to do with the real Metro system in Hungary's capital city.

Yes, in Budapest they really do have control agents who ride along incognito and then suddenly whip out their official armbands and start checking for passengers onboard without valid tickets -- but just like the earlier American film "Repo Man" (a similarly despised way to make a living) this film is hardly a slice of "real" life or meant to be!

In fact, one of the funniest bits in the film -- and the first thing you see -- is a poker-face statement read by what we're told is a representative of the Hungarian Metro system reminding us that what we're about to see is more a parable of good and evil than a depiction of actual events or conditions in the Hungarian Metro system.

The humor is dark, but anyone who really and truly hates their current job (or suffers from bouts of depression in general) will probably identify with the controllers in this film -- especially if the hated job involves interactions with the public at large!

Like a number of other Hungarian films I've been watching recently, the characters are both wildly eccentric but quite charming innocents at heart (in a perverse sort of way, or course).

Yes, there is depictions of "sex and violence" in this film, but not anything as graphic as what's on American TV every evening, and these scenes are handled with a discrete finesse that is quite impressive. For example, there are some tarty underground prostitutes in the film, but a girl who rides the subway in a bulky pink Teddy Bear costume (think Barnie, not a Playboy bunny) is hero's love interest and sexier than anything in a skimpy skirt!

If you enjoy foreign films in general, try this one for sure. As for me, I'm rapidly becoming hooked on Hungarian films -- and (despite my pen name) I'm not even Hungarian!