« Coffee Break | Main | Coffee Break »

January 16, 2018

Kills on Wheels

Kills-on-Wheels-1.jpg

Tiszta szívvel
Attila Till - 2016
Kino Lorber BD Region A

Often while watching Kills on Wheels, I thought of the late, quadriplegic cartoonist, John Callahan. The butts of the jokes were often people without arm or legs, maybe a hook for a hand. Callahan didn't even spare himself with a western posse stopped at an abandoned wheelchair, with one of the men declaring, "He won't get far on foot". I still recall one cartoon where a sign was featured stating, "Hire the handicapped. They're fun to watch."

Till sometimes has fun at the expense of his characters as well, as when one wheelchair bound character rolls on a pathway, only to find that his only way down is on stairway. I don't know if Till knew of Callahan and his cartoons, but his two young characters, Zolika and Barba, aspire to be cartoonists. Their adventures as part-time hit men recruited by former fireman Rupaszov may, or may not, be springing from their imagination.

The original title translates from Hungarian as "a pure heart". What is interesting here is that the English title describes the action of the characters, while the Hungarian title is about the intent. Without giving too much of the story away, most of the killing is done by Rupaszov. Zolika and Barba might be accomplices, but their main motivation is a temporary sense of independence from life in the rehabilitation center that is their home. Away from therapists and doctors, the two young men get to enjoy Budapest night life, free flowing alcohol and even some female company.

Unlike the stream of Hollywood films that are centered on disabled characters, Zoltan Fenyvesi as Zolika is genuinely dependent on his wheels. The actor playing Barba, Adam Fekete, has cerebral palsy. Able bodied actors might complain less about any physical demands after seeing these two getting knocked into the Danube River in one scene. The actor playing Rupaszov, Szabolcs Thuroczy, may familiar to those who saw White God from last year. Parts of the film appear to have been filmed in real locations with scores of real-life extras. Till has reportedly worked as a volunteer with the disabled, providing some inspiration for the film.

Several shots are from the level, if not point of view, of someone in a wheelchair. There is one bravura scene of a shootout in a gangster's mansion, with what appears to be a single long tracking shot moving across two divided rooms sharing the same floor, starting with Rupaszov, with the camera following his victims as they are shot. The real life action is occasionally broken up with images of Zolika and Barba's artwork in progress.

The blu-ray includes three brief deleted scenes, plus some brief bits with Till and his actors discussing the making of Kills on Wheels.

Posted by Peter Nellhaus at January 16, 2018 10:41 AM