Kontroll

Colour, 35 mm
Hungary, 2003, 105 min
Section: Variety Critics´ Choice

Synopsis

The trains keep a-rollin´ in Control, an action thriller set entirely in the grungy stations and dank tunnels of the Budapest subway system. U.S.-born helmer Nimród Antal is well-traveled in genre conventions and keeps a firm hand on the throttle throughout the smartly-paced saga taking place in the familial yet eccentric world of ticket inspectors and their hostile populace, a world where a hooded killer is running looose. Crowd-pleasing, darkly comic joyride was the top Magyar earner of 2003. Shot with an obvious appreciation for the geometry of space, Gyula Pados´ nimble camera prowls into every corner, and the various foot races in stations and tunnels are individual triumphs of shooting and editing.

Eddie Cockrell