Review of Kontroll (2003) by Gordon H — 23 Dec 2009

Bleakly comic, kinetic and goergeously shot, Nimrod Antal makes the Budapest underground into an unreal purgatory populated by people existing on the finges of society. Like Alice, Bulscu has abandoned the real world, but here in Wonderland he is an authority figure with no power, and he must follow the white rabbit back to salvation.

The characters are rich, mostly flawed (with the exception of the love interest, who's sense of hope is what draws Bulscu back to engaging with the world) but with sharp witty dialogue that serves to add a grim humour to an otherwise quite dark film.

The camera angles make the most of the location, the lighting adds to the unreality of the world, and the contrast of the crumpled worn out people against the industrial aesthetic of flourescent lighting, concret, tiles, and exposed steelwork highlights the grinding opression of the environment taking it's toll on the psyche of the characters. Neo's soundtrack to the film is fantastic and perfectly complements the films more contemplative moments and adds a perfect urgency to the films action sequences benefiting from some sharp editing that makes the film exhilerating when it really gets moving.

It's pretty much perfect, A hungarian Trainspotting with real trains.