Kontroll

kontrollrating-4.0I accidentally came across the lauded but virtually unheard of Hungarian movie Kontroll on Showtime the other afternoon. It's hard to describe, having elements of a mystery, thriller, and, most prominently, a very dark comedy. And, while it does wander towards the end in a delirious, dreamy haze and lose some focus, the characters and events are a strange and interesting look into the sad life of the Hungarian subway worker. Surely, much of it is a comedic exaggeration, but as a foreigner much of alien interest is to be found in the exploits of the ticket-checkers and thier rowdy goings-on.

The Hungarian lead is a hell of an actor and I'd love to see him in more movies and the plot provides plenty of use for the array of bizarre characters to get in fights, get the shit beaten out of them, be disparaged by the populace for their lowly and hated position, and chatter away in some excellent and amusing dialogue. And, all this, with the backdrop of a strange and mysterious killer pushing people in front of subway trains.

The DVD is something of an expense, but I'll definitely be picking it up, if for nothing more than the sleek, stylish and dirty look of the movie. It's definitely an unusual and fresh film for those looking for something different than the norm.

imdb   amazon