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Hungarian writer-director Nimrod Antal's debut feature, Kontroll, is something of an odd hybrid: It's sort of a dark comedy, sort of a romance and sort of a thriller, but not entirely any of those, and yet somehow it all comes together to create a charming portrait of life in Budapest's subway system.
The entire film takes place in the dank, dark underground railway system, shot beautifully by cinematographer Gyula Pados, and Antal imbues it with an otherworldly, science-fiction feel. His film is closer to a fable than to any of the genres upon which it touches, following ticket-control officer Bulcsu (Sandor Csanyi) and his band of misfit co-workers as they deal with angry passengers, subway pranksters and a mysterious hooded stranger who pushes people in front of trains.
Just as important as the stranger is a girl in a teddy-bear costume who catches Bulcsu's eye, but neither the mystery nor the romance are given prominence over the comedic interactions of the inspectors and the passengers. You might wonder at the end what happened to the plot, but the mood, characters and look are so striking that you really won't miss it.