April 21, 2005 - It's been more than a year since Kontroll first premiered at the Cannes film festival and created a stir. The Hungarian film market is a small one, and Kontroll went on to be one of Budapest's most successful films to date. Of course, a successful film in Budapest doesn't mean a whole lot to the massive dollar-driven movie business of Hollywood, which is probably why it has taken so long to reach the States. Nevertheless, Kontroll opens in limited release this week. With a little luck, it will spread outside of New York and L.A. because it really is worth checking out.

Kontroll is set entirely in the bizarre environment known as the Budapest Subway System, which is the world's second oldest underground metro system. Within the confines of this metro system there are teams of security officers known as Kontroll. These inspectors are akin to meter maids here in the U.S. In another words, they aren't the most popular fellows. Sandor Csanyi plays Bulcsu, the leader of one of the security teams. His group is comprised of a colorful bunch of misfits who live their lives moment-to-moment working the grueling long hours. A mystery is also developing involving an alarming amount of suicides (individuals apparently jumping in front of the trains), and Bulcsu soon stumbles upon the true cause of these deaths.

Heavily influenced by the work of hipster directors like Martin Scorsese, Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino and Danny Boyle, Kontroll is a terrific debut for U.S.-born director Nimrod Antal. The film has a fresh energy that carries it from the opening sequence straight through the bizarre exploration of Bulcsu's imagination and his pursuit of the murderer.

	-THINKFILM

Antal's direction is sharp and inventive throughout, maintaining the energy of the locations and creating an array of trippy situations and even trippier characters. The story is akin to an extended dream sequence, with characters that are sometimes real, sometimes not, and sometimes a blur between the two. As the insomnia of the often all-night job sets in, it's increasingly unclear which scenes are actually occurring or simply created in the head of our hero, Bulcsu. Antal creates a scary and intriguing world all at once, filled with memorable characters you enjoy watching on screen but probably wouldn't want to meet in reality.

An equal standout to Antal's impressive direction is the exceptional cinematography work of Gyula Pados. The film looks beautiful, with scenes that often appear ripped right out of a book on photography. The strange atmosphere is further enhanced by the look Pados creates and his vast use of bright colors contrasted with the often drab look of the subway system. An underground subway system is not something we usually think of as particularly visually appealing, but Pados uses light and color to make the film look exceptional.

	-THINKFILM

The character Csanyi creates with Bulcsu is very memorable. He really etches out a multi-layered character whose expressions often tell more than his dialogue. It's hard to believe that he was cast only days before production began. He's a little bit Tom Cruise and a little bit Benicio del Toro (if you can imagine that) all rolled into one. Sort of natural good looks mixed with a sleazy bad boy charm. Bulcsu is compelling to watch although you're never quite sure if he might be completely out of his mind.

Kontroll is an extremely impressive debut. Antal's style is heavily influenced by the hip pop retro cinema of the '90s, but he doesn't just copy it, he uses it as a jump-off point to create a style and perspective that is highly original. Reading the plot description of Kontroll for the first time, it didn't sound all that interesting to me, but there is a lot more going on in this film than you can sum up in a paragraph of plot description or really in an entire review. If you have the chance to check this film out, I'd highly recommend it.

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