Kontroll

Hungary

2003

105 Min

Color

1.85:1

Hungarian

Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
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CAST Sándor Csányi, Zoltán Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch, Sándor Badár, Zsolt Nagy, Bence Mátyássy, Gyözö Szabó, Eszter Balla, Lajos Kovács

MUSIC Neo

Cannes (Un Certain Regard): Prix de la jeunesse, AFI FEST (European Showcase), Telluride, Chicago (International Competition): Gold Hugo, SXSW

Synopsis

Ghost trains and ghostly characters, figuratively speaking of course, are what run through the perpetual night of this fictitious underground (metro) system. Bulcsú’s (Sándor Csányi) life that once was, on the surface, where the real people go home after work, who go to the movies or a fine restaurant is now replaced by the dark, cold and solitude arena of his new dwellings. Him, and his motley crew of ragtag metro ticket Kontrollers must patrol the trains that run these City dwellers back and forth and with daily ritual, check that no one dare come down into their world for a free ride. With indifferent passengers, a possible love interest, a regime set on competition and to top it all a mysterious serial killer at large, Kontroll is a dark and bleak comedy of the world of the ticket inspector, who, in the end must keep this Metro system running. If not, what would be the worst that could happen, if they ever lost control? Dare you ride here for free, too? —IMDb

Director

Nimród Antal

Nimród E. Antal (pronounced: Neemrode; born November 30, 1973) is a Hungarian American film director, screenwriter and actor.

Life and career

Antal was born in Los Angeles to parents of Hungarian ancestry. In 1991, following his father’s advice, Antal moved to Hungary to study at the Hungarian Film Academy. After graduating he began work in the film and television industry; in 2005, he returned to Los Angeles and continued to work in the film and television industry in Hollywood.

Directing

He is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film Kontroll (2003), which won numerous awards, including the Award of the Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Hugo (main prize) at the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as a European Film Award nomination for Best Director. The backdrop of the film is the Budapest Metro subway system. Kontroll, refers to the act of ticket inspectors checking to ensure a rider has paid their… read more

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ElTigreNegro

6Mar13

A fun movie, sucks that the director was already eaten by the hollywood machine.

Rick Brands

20Sep12

Not much to offer storywise, but a great setting with some interesting characters passing through. Obviously highly inspired by Besson's 'Subway', though.

Wariaz

10Jul12

NATHAN HUMMELL <3<3<3 <'"oh Bela!"'>

Jason Chan

1Jul12

Ticket inspectors appropriately dramatized. A misleading setup to be a thriller, but turns out to be great dark comedy with metaphors worth exploring.