Review of Kontroll (2003) by Carl P — 01 Feb 2012

Kontroll follows the lives of the ticket inspectors, or kontrollers, working on the Budapest underground. They are seen by the public as Nazi's, an image they seemingly uphold in their choice to wear red arm bands to make themselves recognisable. Their job is to check peoples tickets, deal with an increase in the number of jumpers and pretty much be hated by the commuters.

Set entirely in the underground it shows how a job like this can affect the mind. It is a very claustrophobic atmosphere, a metaphor for their lives. The job they do gains no respect and they are seemingly losing their minds and their control. This lack of control is shown in the psychiatrist scene where each of the kontrollers discuss their psychological problems, of which there are many, most of which are caused by the environment they are working in. This actually got me thinking about the monotony of life and how each day seemingly merges into the next, well down here it literally does. It is very difficult to distinguish the passing of time down here.

The film is almost like a surreal dream, and the fact we can't differentiate between night and day suggests a feeling of insomnia. Is it actually just one day? Certain characters are encountered twice in the film, perhaps on their commute to and from work. But the lead character sleeps in the underground on a few occasions at what we assume is night, surely that is the passing of time? Well, not necessarily. As an insomnia sufferer I know that everything merges into one, we are no longer aware of things like the passing of time and we barely control our own actions.

In my opinion Kontroll is an exploration of the problems of monotony and the inevitable insomnia that follows. A lot of the film, namely the more extreme sections, could possibly be described as hallucinatory dreams, the mind playing tricks on the characters. Just take the closing chase scene as evidence of that fact. This makes the film very interesting though, there is no simple answer to the question and it is a film that deserves talking about. It is certainly the most ambiguous film I've watched in a while. Or is it? Perhaps I'm just tired and over analysing?

I would certainly recommend this film to anyone, it is beautifully shot, well acted and the story is incredible. Oh, and before I forget, the soundtrack is simply awesome. A strongly recommended film.