Kontroll : A Dark Hungarian Comedy

Kontroll may just possibly be the only Hungarian film I’ve ever seen (there’s plenty of films that were filmed in Hungary, but usually by American productions.) Having said that, I was not quite sure what to expect from a Hungarian-made thriller filmed entirely in the sprawling chaos of a Hungarian subway.

Kontroll starts out with some light-hearted montages of an eclectic group of subway workers, who are punching tickets and dealing with a variety of difficult and obnoxious passengers.

The characters are a unique band of misfits. The movie focuses on the tireless efforts to "Kontroll" the uncontrollable (in this instance, the masses of wild people they aim to herd and monitor).

The "Kontrollers" are a group is led by Bulcsu, a mysterious man who once lived and worked above ground, but for reasons unsaid, has receded into a life working in the dark tunnels of the metro tunnel, where he finds more solace. 

Apart from the comedic struggle of ticket checking, there is also a dark side to Kontroll. An unknown serial killer is loose in the tunnels, using the speeding trains as his preferred method of murder. It doesn't take long for Bulcsu and his faithful crew to become entangled in the killer’s web, as tensions and suspicions rise.

Kontroll is noir and comedy hemmed seamlessly together to create a wonderful suspense. The characters are redeeming for Hungarians represented in cinema; the director having forgone the usual generic stereotypes for flawed and unique people worth getting to know for an hour and a half.

The suspense in Kontroll engrossing, as well as the many other sub-plots. The surreal neon lights and cold loneliness of the subway works very well to draw you into the mystique of the film. The movie is about control in the face of chaos and fear, when people who have little control of their own existence are charged to bring order to indifferent and hostile resisters.

Trailer

 

MY RATING: 7.0