KONTROLL

D: Nimród Antal; with Sándór Badár, Eszter Balla, Sándor Csányi, Lajos Kovács, Zoltán Mucsi, Zsolt Nagy, Csaba Pindroch

Narrative Feature Spotlight

In essence, this blockbuster hit from Hungary is a classic mythological tale. We follow ticket inspector Bulscú (Badár, an A-list leading man if there ever was one) through the gritty underworld of the Budapest subway system. Here, he and his rag-tag team try in futility to keep order and enforce the rules of the Kontroll, the governing transportation system. Jim Adler’s screenplay is a work of art, grounded with hilarious montages and brutal fight scenes, yet steeped in metaphor with angelic women in pink bear suits and angels of death in black hoodies. Think Fight Club meets Run Lola Run – that hip, glossy veneer with a European sensibility – basically a film that’s going to force you to think. Considering the scope of the story being told in Kontroll, this is a stunning debut for first-time director Antal.

Arbor, 9:30pm

This article appears in March 18 • 2005.

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