Weirdly original ‘Kontroll’ has dynamite leading man
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 26, 2005
Before the main action begins in the new Hungarian film “Kontroll,” a man claiming to be a city official appears in front of the camera, reading a script. He assures us that, although the movie was made in the subways of Budapest, it bears no relation to what actually happens beneath the streets of the city.
| Atmospheric: Filmed entirely in the subways beneath Budapest, this wild and crazy movie follows a depressed ticket inspector as a killer haunts the underground. Sandor Csanyi makes an excellent leading man for this atmospheric thriller. (In Hungarian, with English subtitles.)
Rated: R rating is for violence. Now showing: Metro. |
Well, thank goodness. If the subways were as wild and crazy as they are in this movie, Hungarians would never venture underground.
“Kontroll” focuses on a group of Budapest subway ticket inspectors. Don’t laugh – these guys move from one hair-raising incident to the next.
The particular crew we follow is a hilariously dog-eared bunch of misfits. Until they pull out their red armbands identifying them as inspectors, they resemble panhandlers and sidewalk buskers more than city employees.
Our hero is Bulcsu, who evidently left a successful job above ground to lose himself in the dark, dank subways. Like him, the audience never sees a single ray of sunlight or breathes a lungful of fresh air in this entire picture.
Bulscu is locked in a deep depression, which only increases with the thought of a killer on the loose in the subways. An apparent series of suicides (people throwing themselves under oncoming trains) has actually been caused by a hooded man shoving unsuspecting travelers as they stand on the platform.
Bulscu and his mates indulge in a dangerous game called “railing.” Bulscu is champ at this – racing an opponent through the tunnel while a subway car approaches from behind.
A bright spot appears in Bulscu’s gloomy life in the form of a woman dressed in a bear suit. She’s the daughter of a sozzled old-time train conductor, a warm-hearted guy who acts as a kind of father-confessor to Bulscu.
Er, why is she in a bear costume? Folks, there are many things that “Kontroll” director Nimrod Antal leaves unanswered – not because he’s sloppy, but because he sees the world in a sideways, allegorical kind of way. Although its atmosphere is oppressive, this is a truly original movie.
Antal has a secret weapon: Sandor Csanyi, who plays Bulscu. This rangy actor has the laid-back appeal and rugged looks of Robert Mitchum, and if he can speak English he’ll have a heck of a career in Hollywood. First we need to get him above ground.
