KONTROLL — *** — Sandor Csanyi, Eszter Balla, Zsolt Nagy; in Hungarian, with English subtitles; rated R (profanity, violence, brief gore, vulgarity, brief sex, brief drugs).
Opening "Kontroll" with a disclaimer that it's purely fictional is a pretty silly touch. After all, no one in his right mind is going to believe that Hungary's underground subway system is a portal to the underworld.
However, that disclaimer was one of several hoops director Nimrod Antal had to jump through to gain permission to shoot his film down there. And as it turns out, it was worth the effort.
Antal's first film, which has fantasy, thriller and dark-comic elements, is certainly one of the most original and oddly entertaining films to come out of Hungary.
The film's title has dual meanings. While "Kontroll" turns out to be the word on the armbands of the ticket inspectors who work the various subway lines, it's also something that undisciplined twentysomething Bulcsu (Sandor Csanyi) is lacking.
He leads a motley crew of ticket takers, which includes the quick-tempered Muki (Csaba Pindroch) and a burned-out old man simply known as the Professor (Zoltan Mucsi). Meanwhile, Bulcsu has taken the newest arrival, Tibor (Zsolt Nagy), under his wing.
He also has to contend with rival crews of ticket takers, a prankster (Bence Matyasi) who keeps eluding Bulcsu, and a malevolent presence that appears to be shoving passengers under trains.
Bulcsu also finds himself entranced by Sjofi (Eszter Balla), who wears a bear costume and who, like him, apparently lives underground. But there's something in his past that prevents him from getting too close to people.
Obviously, this is very quirky stuff. And the constant gear-changing — or tonal shifts — may put some audience members off a bit (as will the rather ambiguous ending).
But it also has style to burn, and most of the cast is appealing, especially the brooding Csanyi, and Balla, whose sunny presence brightens up the dark proceedings.
"Kontroll" is rated R for frequent use of strong sexual profanity, violence (beatings and subway train violence, mostly overheard), brief gore, some crude humor and references, brief sexual contact, and some brief drug content (including use of a hypodermic needle). Running time: 105 minutes.
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