Kontroll

Anyone for a movie shot entirely in the bowels of Budapest’s underground train system? Don’t be put off by the premise: this is a witty, original and stylish debut. Antal’s film opens with a man reading us a notice saying that nothing here represents existing people or places. But it’s the details of Budapest’s metro stations that Antal indulges in, turning them into a neat theatre for his story of an alienated, melancholic ticket inspector, Bulcsú (Csányi), and his ragged band of colleagues. The pillars, platforms, trains and corridors all fuel thoughtful camerawork that is defined by harsh neon lights. Down in the depths, there’s a madman on the loose, inclined to lurk on platforms and push people under trains. But it’s the everyday life of the station’s staff and travellers that proves more interesting than this hooded figure. Essentially a series of vignettes, Bulcsú’s story emerges out of the chaos. It’s only when he meets an enigmatic girl dressed in a mouse costume that he is able to put this subterranean world behind him.