Kontroll
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Movie Reviews of Kontroll
Movie Review: Amazing Film, Subpar DVD (a better DVD release would have rated 5 stars, absolutely)
Summary: 4 Stars
Many people have already written about what this film is about so I will not say any more on that. I will state simply that this is a wonderful film, one of my favorites from 2005 (the year it played in my local theater), and it is exciting, thought provoking, and often very funny. I went into it originally knowing almost nothing about it and was delighted at what I saw. So much so that I went to see it a second time later in the week before it was gone.
All of that said I was thrilled to get it on DVD. But my thrill turned to slight disappointment when I realized that not only was it a barebones DVD as far as extras go (there are absolutely no extras at all), and not only were the subtitles burned into the image (i.e. non-removable), but it was also a non-anamorphic transfer. In fact the only saving grace for this disc (besides the exceptional film) is that the burned in subtitles are over the film image rather than the black letterboxing. This means that when played on a widescreen TV, and zoomed in to fill the entire screen (to compensate for it not being anamorphic) the subtitles are clearly readable and do not get cut off. But it is completely unforgivable for ANY DVD to be released in the year 2005 with a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer, and burned in subtitles. Unforgivable. And on top of that the film is not inexpensive by any means. Amazon sells it for $24.99 (at the time of this writing), and I purchased it in store for about $28. If it was any other film I would have returned it if at all possible, and been a lot more scathing in my review. But since I absolutely love this film I can only be disappointed that it received about the worst possible DVD release it could get. The only thing that could have made it worse would be if it was only available in a so called "fullscreen" version and not widescreen at all. But having averted that absolute catastrophe scenario they settled on the next worst DVD release they could manage. I'm considering tracking down a much better foreign version I've heard about.
(UPDATE EDIT) Since writing me review I have noticed that the price of this DVD has significantly dropped. As of now (December 2008) it is only $7.99 on Amazon. Taking this into account I can more highly recommend the DVD even given the overwhelming lack of quality presentation I talk about in the review. Sure it is still a shame that this excellent film wasn't presented better on it's DVD, but not as big of a shame as it was when it originally cost $28. This movie, even given this shamefully lackluster DVD release, is well worth $7.99.
Movie Review: A Definite Watch
Summary: 4 Stars
When I read the cable description of the movie "A hooded figure pushes people in front of oncoming trains," I wasn't sure I'd be able to watch it. I thought it was a horror movie. I'm glad I took the time to see it. It's become one of my favorite movies, and one of the few foreign movies where the sub-titles not only don't bother you, you really don't even need them to know what's going on. It's extremely well acted, and you get such a strong sense of who the characters really are. If you just watch it as a movie, it's a really interesting picture, but if you really take the time to think about what you're seeing, you'll see the existentialism, the metaphors and understand it's really about the classic struggle not only of good and evil, but how deep that is within every person.
There are no pat answers, the end is basically yours to decide. It's whatever you want to believe. For a first time director, it's a triumph. Upon researching the making of the movie, I found that it was entirely filmed in the Budapest subway. They could only film very late at night after the trains had stopped running. When you see the main character in one scene running uphill in the subway, he's actually him navigating the wires and tracks and breathing in all the soot and hot air. Despite the fact they are all speaking Hungarian, you get a better bead on everyone's character better than in a lot of movies where you can actually understand what people are saying, which speaks to how well acted it is. It's not a murder mystery really, although people do die (you never actually see it), but as the movie unfolds, it's less about the dying than it is about the living. For the most part, the movie is not comedic, but there are some very, very funny parts in it. Even now when the movie comes on and I see certain scenes, I still laugh just as hard. The comedy isn't used so much to break the tension, as it is a window into each person's issues and how they deal or don't deal with their situation of working in this grimy underworld. The music is reminiscent of 80's techno, which I'm not a fan of, but I actually liked it. It's haunting and creates the mood. This movie will appeal to a lot of people just as it is, but if you're a thinker and can abstract think a bit, I think you'll really find this interesting and worth seeing more than once. The more you see it, the more you see and pick up, and the more you understand the ending and all the symbolism throughout the whole movie.
Movie Review: Punchy contemporary Hungarian film
Summary: 4 Stars
How many people in the US (or in a whole lot of other countries, for that matter) know that the Budapest subway system is one of the oldest in the world? That's the setting for this film, and it starts, interestingly enough, with a disclaimer by an actual employee of the subway system who talks about his organization's cooperation in working with the film director, Nimrod Antal, in making the film.
The setting functions as much more than a setting here; it creates the atmosphere, and restricts and constricts the characters--most of whom are ticket inspectors, or controllers--in a confined self-imposed semi-prison in which they eat, sleep, work, talk, and even find romance.
Muki, a big slob, loves greasy food and is narcoleptic. Bootsie, our (sort of) hero, meets a young woman in a teddy bear costume who turns out to be the daughter of Bootsie's "uncle", Bela, who is a train driver and with whom his daughter sometimes rides, telling him how much she loves being with him. Gonzo is the leader of a rival ticket inspector group whose team is granted the first "official" controller 'uniforms' (the others just wear their street clothes and, when on duty, a red arm band to signify their duties). Tibor is a young rookie, learning the ropes, who's part of the controller group that includes Muki, Bootsie, the Professor, and a short guy with a mustache who's overly aggressive.
Scenes of the controllers trying to verify ticket purchase from passengers on and off the train (i.e., in the station) alternate with the controllers themselves talking to each other and dealing with their superiors--a curt, abrupt guy who won't take any BS, and a trio of upper level execs, one of whose face is badly scarred. There's also a love story and a series of brutal killings, both of which converge in some way on Bootsie.
Antal does a fine job here; he's obviously studied filmmaking, seen quite a few films, and knows how to edit and pace the film to give it a punchy modern feel. Techno music alternates with some dark strings, alternating the mood as well. The cinematography is smart--the jump cuts, camera angles and tracking shots are all where and how they should be to keep the viewer glued to the screen.
A great first effort for Mr. Antal. It will be interesting to see what he does next.
Movie Review: "Repo Man" Hungarian style?
Summary: 4 Stars
Even if you have never actually ridden on one of those amazing steep, deep, and dangerously fast Budapest Metro escalators that swoop you down from street level deep into their subway system, I urge you to take a virtual journey into an imaginative and quirky cinematic world every bit as fantastic as Alice's adventures "underground."
This film is a funny and funky thriller but certainly has very little to do with the real Metro system in Hungary's capital city.
Yes, in Budapest they really do have control agents who ride along incognito and then suddenly whip out their official armbands and start checking for passengers onboard without valid tickets -- but just like the earlier American film "Repo Man" (a similarly despised way to make a living) this film is hardly a slice of "real" life or meant to be!
In fact, one of the funniest bits in the film -- and the first thing you see -- is a poker-face statement read by what we're told is a representative of the Hungarian Metro system reminding us that what we're about to see is more a parable of good and evil than a depiction of actual events or conditions in the Hungarian Metro system.
The humor is dark, but anyone who really and truly hates their current job (or suffers from bouts of depression in general) will probably identify with the controllers in this film -- especially if the hated job involves interactions with the public at large!
Like a number of other Hungarian films I've been watching recently, the characters are both wildly eccentric but quite charming innocents at heart (in a perverse sort of way, or course).
Yes, there is depictions of "sex and violence" in this film, but not anything as graphic as what's on American TV every evening, and these scenes are handled with a discrete finesse that is quite impressive. For example, there are some tarty underground prostitutes in the film, but a girl who rides the subway in a bulky pink Teddy Bear costume (think Barnie, not a Playboy bunny) is hero's love interest and sexier than anything in a skimpy skirt!
If you enjoy foreign films in general, try this one for sure. As for me, I'm rapidly becoming hooked on Hungarian films -- and (despite my pen name) I'm not even Hungarian!
Movie Review: Man-Made Hell (Not Exactly a Comedy)
Summary: 4 Stars
Ever since I condemned myself to riding the subway to and from my job 5 days a week for 8 ghastly years until I came to my senses and left Manhattan, subways have always struck me as a man-made hell. That's what the main character of this genuinely different film from Hungary has banished himself to: A hellish subway inspector's job in a nightmare hole in the ground from which he can escape merely by hopping on an escalator and riding up into the light, but it takes him 105 minutes of screen time to decide to do it.
Be honest with you, it felt more like 205 minutes to me while I was watching it. Time doesn't exactly fly by in a nightmare of the type where you keep running and running and don't seem to get anywhere while the Thing that's on your tail keeps advancing on you. To stop such a nightmare, it often takes becoming the hunter instead of the hunted, going after the monster and leading it into a trap instead of allowing it to terrorize you until you're too weak to run anymore.
Don't know quite what the protagonist's problem is in "Kontroll," or which monkey he's got on his back, or why he's banished himself to an impossible job he hates and for which he is hated, or what he fears about the light, but for 80% of this movie I was fascinated because his problem is everybody's problem. His story is Everyman's and Everywoman's story who's had to come to terms with mortality. "Kontroll" has a few amusing moments, sure, but a comedy it isn't.
The film's pacing should have been much tighter, but the acting is almost uniformly superb, with the leading male actor a mesmerizing standout. I could have done without the simpering female lead in the teddy bear suit; mesmerizing, she isn't, though perhaps she just needs a stronger director. The soundtrack is terrific. The photography of the Budapest subway system is breathtaking (and somewhat heartbreaking). The Hungarian language spoken is rich and fertile, and the subtitles are never obtrusive.
5 stars for concept, content, and acting. 3 stars for directing. All in all, a 4-star, highly unusual film well worth seeing, even if it is 20% longer than it needs to be.