Review of Kontroll (2003) by Arun B — 20 Sep 2009

Part black comedy, part action/thriller and part allegorical tale of redemption, it mixes elements from standard American urban thrillers with the feverish, dreamlike distortions of classic Eastern European art cinema, played out in the labyrinthine tunnels of the Budapest subway system.

DP Gyula Pados' fulsome cinematography makes of the underground sets the kind of textured iconographic landscape.A dream (paced by electronica group Neo's rowdy, fantastic score), in which Bulcsú finds himself crawling through something like an endless vaginal tunnel, is the moment when Kontroll comes fully alive: it's the juncture between metaphor, craft, and narrative - and for almost all of its final hour, the film maintains an unbelievably high level of invention and insight.

It's a great Sci-Fi piece, a razor-sharp satire, a horrific thriller, a lyrical fantasy and an impressive calling card for an emerging Hungarian cinema. Fantastic!