User reviews

KONTROLL is a Hungarian film from director Nimród Antal. Yes, that's really his name. The first thing he did when he introduced the film was make fun of the fact that he was called Nimrod, which is great.

The film is about a group of ticket inspectors in the Hungarian subway system, with the focus on at least one in particular (Bulcsú). Each character is extremely likable, even the passengers become memorable characters, as none of them buy a ticket and are chased or shaken down by the inspectors, which is commonplace in Hungary. There is even a young girl in a bear suit (don't ask) that is absolutely gorgeous. The interaction between her and Bulcsú is sweet and funny. They had the kind of chemistry that is difficult to capture on film.

The entire film takes place in the underground, which is effectively presented as a separate world than the one above ground. Some characters even talk about "up there" with a child- like wonder in their voices.

The cinematography is beautiful. Some of the scenes or long panning shots in the underground are breathtaking. Who'd a thunk it'd look so cool down there? You can tell the director has a photography background, by the wonderful shots he selected.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the rockin' soundtrack. Unfortunately, the band that did the music (NEO) are no longer together. Lets hope the director gets the soundtrack released.

This film is not all laughs however. It has a very serious side that is dark, and an ending that makes you think. If this is the kind of film we can expect from Hungary, I'm eagerly anticipating more. I definitely recommend this film. (8/10)

"Kontroll" gives me new hope that Hungarian filmmakers are finally capable to make pictures that appeal to audiences at home, movie critics (and probably also foreign audiences) alike. An excellent, though a bit weird mixture of satirical comedy, mystical drama and thriller. The metro stations become a world of their own, the neon lights create a new reality.

While in the beginning the film focuses on a whole group of ticket controllers and we expect a satirical comedy about their lives, in the second half the storyline concentrates on the terrifying experiences of Bulcsú, a man with a mysterious past. He used to be an artist or in some other kind of creative business not specified further, but left this life for unknown reasons and started to live in the metro. It also becomes clear that for some reason he is not able to leave the metro system until the end - when he overcomes the dark forces (that probably have also been lurking inside him). Everything about this story is deeply irrational (except for the satirical elements that are in some ways very close to reality :-)), this is just a terrible world, where love means the only hope (I was a bit reminded of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil").

An excellent movie that I would also strongly recommend to foreign viewers. I don't know if this will ever come to other countries, but I would very much like it to be so. So that Hungary could be put back on the landscape of international moviemaking.

P.s.: The Budapest multiplex I saw this in was absolutely packed with people. I was astonished what a great success "Kontroll" has become in Hungary, because I think that most people in the audience there have probably never seen anything that could only remotely be called arthouse - and "Kontroll" wasn't exactly an easy popcorn movie....

I can't wait to see this film again! There is a DVD coming out with Canadian distrib. ThinkFilm in the 1st quarter of 2005...i can't wait this long!!! Gah! The director was there for a Q&A after the film, and was wonderful to talk to (which is always a nice surprise). He told me that they got the high contrast look with a 'bleach-bypass' developing of the film, and it amplified the beautiful camera work.

First review says it all, gorgeous cinematography, great directing, great acting, great story. The lead actor also had the most incredible screen presence. I couldn't tear my eyes off his performance once, i hope he continues in the business with much success. I'd also keep my eyes on the other actors, as they were all fantastic.

-cheers.

What an unexpected pleasure! It doesn't happen very often to me that I go watch a movie completely in the dark; when I do, it's usually because somebody dragged me to it - as was the case here - and more often than not, I regret it afterwards. This was a very welcome exception. What a find! This movie has simply everything: great characters, superb cinematography, a kick-ass soundtrack; it's a comedy, a mystery thriller, a drama and a romance - and the performances and the direction are flawless. The main storyline follows Bulcsù, who is a ticket inspector for the Budapest subway. He lives in the dark, depressing tunnels below the city and never leaves them, having chosen his own personal hell after a life above which he seems to desperately want to forget. Bulcsù is a very ambiguous character and it's precisely the ambiguity and the symbolism of his story which make this film stand out for me. You have to fill in a lot of the blanks yourself and the further the story progresses, the more you're left wondering and guessing. I will not spoil anything here, but what makes me call this film great instead of just very good, is that there is a wide range of different interpretations possible for this marvelous movie, from the mainstream one to the dark and disturbing or even the religious - and they all work beautifully. Great, smart entertainment and outstanding cinema. 10 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

I think, it's one of the best Hungarian films what had been ever made. Bulcsú's character is very good, and Kovács Lajos (the drunken metro driver) is a great actor, the story is exciting, and the pictures have very dark feelings, so it's a perfect film from a genius director, Antal Nimród. The story is very dark, and grabs your deep inner frightens. And it shows you the real world of Budapest subway, it's the same that you see in the film, expect the shadow murderer with the hood. Csányi Sándor's first main role wasn't too difficult for this fantastic young talent, he did his performances more perfect than the perfect. If you aren't a ticket inspector, or a subway passenger, you should watch this film. I can recommend it to everybody.

(sorry for my poor English, but I haven't got a language exam yet :-) )

CONTROL (Nimród Antal - Hungary 2003).

The film opens with a prologue featuring a real-life Budapest metro official declaring this film is in no way representative of Budapest's underground system, but nevertheless he's in full support (!) of this feature. Probably enscenated by the director, or he must be one hell of a charming fellow to convince the underground authorities in Budapest to allow this kind of endorsement.

This is a smart film. A cynical blender of genres and styles, completely in tune with the 21th century world of chaos, anarchy, despair and poverty we live in. It's a modern language. If this was American, it would define a generation. I'm positive it had this effect on many young Hungarians.

We have a closely confined space here: The Budapest underground rail system. Bulcsú, our main protagonist, is a controller in the Budapest metro. That's his job, leading a motley bunch of rival ticket inspectors. The film never comes above ground. Bulcsú never even leaves the system. He sleeps on the platforms, all he seems to eat or drink is coffee from the machines on the platforms. God knows what he lives on.

The crucial part is in the second half when Bulcsú meets an acquaintance of him on the platform, an middle-aged man who seems like a former professor of him or some kind of mentor. He is clearly embarrassed to run into him in the state he's in. What is it he's hiding from? He seems a well-educated young man. His acquaintance speaks of the promising young Bulcsú. Was he a promising scientist? What was his life like prior to the hellish job he does now? The rest, the extremely aggressive and unwilling passengers, rivalry among colleague ticket inspectors, even a shadowy serial killer who pushes unsuspecting travelers before trains, it's all a sideshow, but a brilliant one. The perfect backdrop for his troubled existence.

Sándor Csányi gives a brilliantly understated performance, perfectly in tune with the daylight-ridden world he lives in.

The silent scene where Bulcsú sits on a large ventilator shaft, echos Ridley Scott, a kind of existential ALIEN-film. Long tracking shots, a neon-lit world, an energetic techno-driven soundtrack. One can argue about the choice of music, the moral stance of the incredibly aggressive passengers but all is perfectly on par with the director's visual ideas. This director is in total control and knows how to express his ideas on film.

Very impressive, make sure you see this.

A small side-note: Nimród Antal, who grew up in LA, is currently finishing his latest film VACANCY, starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, scheduled for US release on 20 April 2007 and, I can hardly believe it, a cinematic release in the Netherlands as well, scheduled for 19 July 2007). I expect the worst and hope for the best.

Camera Obscura --- 10/10

Weird, whacky, amusing, unsettling with a thumpingly good soundtrack, Kontroll is a funky cult-style adventure in the Budapest subway system, the scarily unbalanced but mostly good-hearted (and fictitious) ticket inspectors, their adversaries, games of dare, the weirdos that play games of evasion, a gorgeous woman dressed in a teddy bear suit and so many other out-there and unpredictable aspects that you never know whether a seen will make you laugh or jump. Not for the very squeamish. The movie is perhaps slightly longer than it needs to be, but the aesthetic ending more than makes up for the sometimes dissipated storyline. The ingenious lighting and costumes, and the sheer audacity of the script and execution shriek of great things to come from this director.

This is just an amazing and wonderful film. It's funny, romantic, creepy, exciting and thought provoking. Too bad this weekend people are lining up to see A Lot Like Love.

The photography is dazzling, the music heart pounding, the acting is masterful... It's been a while since i enjoyed a movie this much. Hope you get a chance to see this, you won't regret it.

The movie is a very strange and quirky dark tale of a bunch of outcasts that spend their time working as ticket inspectors in the subway, but their leader is a haunting and charming guy that is obviously dealing with his demons and has exiled himself to the subway. In his quest for finding life again, so much stuff happens. The story is beautiful, but pretty dark and creepy at times, and the romantic plot between him and the gorgeous teddy bear girl in which both share their "outcastness" is perfect.

Please go see this, you deserve it.

This is such a great film from a first time director. This movie makes you fall in love with the character and actually care whats going on in his life. And they do this with great music, funny situations, and some fun action scenes. This is definitely a treat if you can find it somewhere. This is one of my favorite films that has been shown at south by southwest, it goes along side The Thing About my Folks, and Palindromes. I can't wait until this comes out to DVD in America, i am definitely going to buy this film. Overall i give it a 9.1 of 10. Don't mess out on a chance to watch this movie.

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for the first time again since Avalon I felt completely lifted to another world... I didn't know what to expect when I decided to watch this one tonight as opener for the Fantasy Film Fest in Hamburg... I was skeptical since the last openers were highly promoted but quite dull... This one is different... A team of very different persons work together as ticket inspectors... each of them is differently weird but fun to watch... The whole movie happens in the subway and stations... no daylight... The images are great and the music fits perfectly to this extraordinary composition. Just don't ask what this movie is about... or if there is a story being told... I don't know... I don't care... I loved to watch and I hope to join this ride soon again...

I went into Kontroll with no expectations and was quickly a fan of the characters and cinematography. We're introduced to the "who the hell would work here" world of the Hungarian subway and we're given a few archetypal characters (the rookie, the reluctant hero with the mysterious past, the buffoon, and not one but two veterans). All of the promise of the first act, however, quickly dissipates into an overwrought poorly-edited and very confused film.

The plot SEEMS to be about a random psychopathic killer. Then the hooded killer goes missing for the rest of the movie until he's needed to wrap up a plot point in the last ten minutes. He doesn't even kill anyone we care about (Bootsie could've been edited out of the movie and it would make no difference).

Then the plot SEEMS to be about the horrible life of a subway worker. We're given two (maybe three) montages of how menial and soul-sucking the work is. We get it, it's a horrible job. What we don't get is why the protagonist stays. We don't need to know what he's afraid of (success? his parents?) but we do need to know why he puts up with his job for so long. We're given more than a glimpse of how strenuous it is, so it's definitely not the lack of pressure.

Then the plot SEEMS to be about a guy falling in love with a kooky girl (she wears a bear suit! how non-threateningly quirky! someone get Zach Braff on the phone) and falling head over heels for her, because she's cute and of course her obvious mental illness is alluring.

All of this would be great if Kontroll actually did anything meaningful with these elements. Instead, it tosses them into a salad with a bit of "love conquers all" dressing. It could have easily been 20 minutes shorter and twice as good. It seems the director fell in love with all of his footage and didn't know what to dump. A chase scene is exciting. A five minute chase scene, where no one is running through glass or doing parkour or shooting bullets or doing something more than just running is boring. And (spoiler) I don't buy the killer being Bulcsu's "split personality." He has no signs of derangement and the film doesn't give us any other clues that it may be him. The killer is a cheap plot device to load interest into the front end and provide a "symbol" for the protagonist at the end.

There are three very good ideas for a film in this movie, but the filmmakers never wrangle them in and take control of a steady direction. This could be a film about a subway pusher. A film about a guy overcoming failure to win a quirky girl (seen that one a million times). A film about working in a hostile and unrewarding environment. There's a way to incorporate all of these themes into one film, but Kontroll never seems to find out how to do that.

At long last there is an excellent, competitive Hungarian movie about different ways of the ego and soul, about love and crime and the background there is symbolic world of subway. I really enjoyed the characters because they all are basic symbols of our life. There is the good, the bad, the lover, the friend and so many characters who can help the protagonist to reach his right way of self-realization and in the other hand there are the dark forces, all those who try to balk our hero to reach the glory. But what the glory really is? It's always personal and different. The same in all ways is to make the dream true. Our hero can beat his evil instincts with love and reach the glory (and to be able to make his dreams true). After all I really enjoyed Nimród Antal first movie and my advice is the next: U have to see it!

Really fun, dark, twisted tale of the men who take tickets, and nab scoff-laws on the Budapest subway; their social structure and rivalries, forming a blackly comic satire on the nature of society as a whole.

Beautifully shot, stylish and stylized, full of exciting scenes, and dark odd characters. Sort of the Coen brothers meet Eastern Europe ennui. Not super deep, and there are a plot few cheats, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Note: the US version is not anamorphic, and doesn't do justice to this great looking film. If you have access to an all region player, the Hungarian DVD, with English subtitles - available on Amazon - is a substantial visual improvement.

Strange movie about dark life of Budapest's metro. Not bad. But there is too much fight between ticket controllers and passengers. Too much impossibility, blood, violence. Recommended just for adults and not metro passengers.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I sat down at my local art house theater to watch Nimrod Antal's 2003 film "Kontroll". I knew exactly three things: The film was in Hungarian, it was about subway ticket inspectors and it looked fairly intriguing, at least visually. I was soon pleased to discover that not only is "Kontroll" a visually stunning film, but it has a compelling story that can possibly be interpreted in several different ways.

"Kontroll" tells the story of a group of subway ticket inspectors who have the unenviable job of attempting to make sure that the subway commuters are holding the appropriate ticket or pass. Normally, their jobs are simply annoying, and somewhat psychologically disturbing; sometimes, however, it is physically dangerous and downright deadly. Particularly lately, when there is a phantom subway dweller in a black hood that is pushing people onto the tracks in front of approaching trains. "Kontroll", while showing most of the members of the subway crew, focuses on one crew in particular, headed by Bulcsu (Csanyi). Bulcsu's crew can best be described as a merry band of misfits; there is a man who gets into such rages that he puts himself into a narcoleptic coma on a daily basis, an older man who seems to be the voice of experience, the requisite hothead and the newbie. Bulcsu, who we find out the most about, (and it's not that much at that) has a mysterious past in which he seemed to be a professional of some sort, is working underground almost as a self-imposed hell, not even going above ground, rather resorting to curling up next to a pillar after the trains are finished running for the night and the lights go out. Not only is his coloring terrible, but also he begins to have horrible dreams, some involving a beautiful young woman in a bear costume, who he eventually meets up with and befriends. "Kontroll", while not having a completely defined storyline, (which is, honestly, part of its charm) is certainly a thought-provoking and compelling film.

Inevitable comparisons will be made to Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting", from the gritty surroundings to the thumping techno soundtrack, but while I honed in on these similarities immediately, "Kontroll" has enough originality to be more than a clone or even a pale imitation. This was the first film I've personally seen surrounding the underground world of subway inspectors, and the story, though at face value may carry an immediate "who cares" stigma BECAUSE of its subject matter, is really quite good and is further bettered by the performance of Csanyi. Looking like a Chris Noth clone on the tail end of a two-week bender, Csanyi is able to give his character sufficient appeal and depth despite the fact that we never really know who he is and what his deal really is.

As I've stated, "Kontroll" leaves a lot to the imagination, and there are several elements of the film that could point in the direction of the theory of purgatory and the duality of man's psyche. Or, it could just simply be a slick, stylish and entertaining film about the subways of Budapest. Whichever way you choose to approach the film and its various themes, if you can find it (as of the present it has not been released on DVD) "Kontroll" is definitely worth seeking out. 7/10 --Shelly

And of course I'm not only talking about the location. Which of course lead to one of the funniest intros to a movie. I'm pretty sure, this won't be on the DVD (although it would be cool), but the boss of the underground trains, talked about the movie and how proud he was, that he allowed them to shoot there. But he made it very clear, that this only a movie (really?) and that everything depicted in it, has no ground in reality and the guys working for him are anything but what is portrayed in the movie.

It was a very funny thing to see before the movie and actually propelled my expectation for the movie ... good thing the movie matched them. We're talking about a gem here. Very weird and definitely not to everyones taste, but that's OK.

Somewhat annoying movie with bits that are worthwhile, but caught up in a fog of director's free play. Primary character is always with that stupid blood on his face which increases as things become more dire. Needs a reality check! Are we looking at fantasy--then give it to us. Or is this "reality" with liberties. Appears as though the director wants to say something but confuses the issue with that nutty subway killer who looks like the Grim Reaper without his scythe. Give me a break! If this is symbolism then I don't buy it. My favorite part was the rapid sequential visits to the psychiatrist. However, this part of the film in its lightness and fun is so out of character that it points out the overall lack of unity offered in the movie. Too many extremes, as though the director really has no idea about what this film is supposed to do. It ends up being a well-produced but unresolved movie.

I've always remembered this movie since seeing it on late night American TV many years ago. It's so good that it has stuck with me (unlike the vast majority of movies I've seen). Details escape me now because it's been so long, but the enjoyment I got from it, the intensity of the story, the characters and direction were all of highest quality. Also, it's a good look at a style of film making we don't see much in the U.S.A. It ought to be required viewing in the curriculum of American film students.

I recommend it, and I have just rated it 9 out of 10. I have a personal collection of almost 1500 movies and I regret that Kontroll is not included in it. During the years that the big VHS/DVD rental stores were winding down I scoured the sale shelves looking for classics (I found the uncut original Killer Elite and Hopscotch among other treasures) but I never came across Kontroll. I wish I had.

Pretty articulated carousel of the dark with style and following atmosphere in pretty solid rhythm. Acting is more than excellent. As usual,when I see several types of genre numbered on IMDb site I can see that the film is beyond understanding of the TV dinner and pop-corn spectators. So, yes, intelligently done especially for the young director. However, the movie is missing the main axis of film plot development pretty seriously. It starts with mysterious deaths, followed by the main events of our favorite crew of controller and then suddenly gets into the love relation between main character and the strange passenger, and than again new events over-strength these and after that the director got lost. All in all, very nice try, decent work. Keep working.

I saw the movie twice and I really enjoyed the funny parts, especially when Sándor Badár and his controller friends are doing their job and the interviews at the company's shrink are hilarious. And, of course, Béla bá, played by Lajos Kovács is excellent.

But what's the story about? Does anyone know who the killer is? And why does he kill people? Why does Bulcsú live underground? What is he hiding from? Why is the girl dressed as a bear? It's such a mess, that I didn't find the answers to those above mentioned questions even though I saw Kontroll twice. I believe a good movie must be written well enough in order to give answers to those questions or at least hints so I can later think about them. Maybe they wanted to have a funny flick about controllers at the Budapest subway, and then randomly threw plot ideas around the jokes to make a 90+minutes movie?

I don't know. SO sad, because the movie could have been a lot better!