Question in Details (Köntörfalak) (2010)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Teaser Trailer-2007 & 2008 Teaser Trailers Theatrical Trailer Short Film-Scrutiny (2006) Gallery-Press, Stage and Making of Photos
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	80:02
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (49:22)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Zsombor Dyga
Studio Distributor	Gryphon Entertainment	Starring	Ferenc Elek Roland Rába Kátya Tompos
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$19.95	Music	UpTownFelaz

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0 (320Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Hungarian English Information	Smoking	Yes, and drug use
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Single father Zoli (Ferenc Elek), whose wife was killed in an accident some years ago, is on a less than successful first date with Eszti (Katya Tompos). When he walks her home he is invited in for a quick drink where he meets Eszti’s gay brother Gabor (Roland Raba). Gabor recognises Zoli; but even more important it seems that Zoli’s date with Eszti was not a random event and that there is a connection between Zoli and Gabor that needs to be explained.

     Question in Details (Kontorfalak) is Hungarian writer / director Zsombor Dyga’s filmed adaptation of his own stage play. It is essentially a three character play, set during one evening in basically real time, that won 2010 Hungarian Film Week Awards for best director, best actor (Ferenc Elek) and best editing (Judit Csako). This is a bit of a surprise. Filmed inside one apartment set, and only occasionally opening out into the night streets of Budapest, Question in Details is a meditation upon relationships, fidelity, chance meetings and love that is very wordy and finally unsatisfying. The three actors are fine, which is just as well as there is little else to look at, although no role is really robust enough to be award material. The editing is also choppy. In the scenes within the apartment, perhaps to try to make the film feel less of a stage play, we seldom get more than one actor on screen. Thus, as it is all dialogue, the camera cuts back and forward rapidly between characters as they talk, creating a very jerky experience. When the film opens out into exteriors this changes for the better and characters are seen more naturally on screen. Question in Details is very static and wordy, struggling to hold our interest. The revelation, when it comes with about 15 minutes to go, is as low key as the rest of the film. Perhaps it comes across better if you are Hungarian.

Video

     Question in Details is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the original theatrical ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced. The film was shot on Digital Red One Cameras and printed on 35 mm which does not come across well. The film was shot at night (exteriors) or in the apartment set using very diffused light sources. It lacks sharpness, contrast is iffy, and while blacks are acceptable shadow detail is often quite indistinct so it is hard to make out what is happening; freeze frame on 10:11 to see what I mean. Colours are quite flat. I did not notice any artefacts or blemishes however.

     English subtitles are in a white font. I noticed no spelling or grammatical errors.

     The layer change at 49:22 resulted in only a slight pause.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is a choice between two Hungarian tracks, Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps and Dolby Digital 2.0 at 320 Kbps.

     This is totally a dialogue driven film and the audio is adequate for this type of film. While the 2.0 audio is set at a lower level, either track is fine. Dialogue is clear, the surrounds being used for ambient sound and music. The subwoofer gave some support to the music but was otherwise silent. The score, credited to The Uptown Felaz, was used sparingly but did provide effective support to the film. For me, the music was probably the highlight of the film.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Film Trailers

     Two teaser trailers, one from 2007, when the film was called Small Talk (0:50), the other from 2009 (1:09), plus the theatrical trailer (2:06).

Short Film Scrutiny (6:09)

     A long take of a woman talking to two other people off camera, seemingly about making a pornographic film. Directed by Zsombor Dyga, Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, white English subtitles. Some noticeable artefacts.

Photo Galleries

     Nicely presented stills accompanied by music. They advance automatically, but at varied speeds, sometimes through fade in and out, sometimes as a slide show. Included are:

• Press Photos – 15 pictures
• Stage Photos – 25 pictures
• Making of Photos – 12 pictures

     I cannot currently find a record of any other release of the film.

     Question in Details is essentially a three character play, a meditation upon relationships, fidelity, chance meetings and love that is very wordy and finally unsatisfying. .

     The DVD has acceptable audio, indifferent video and some extras. The presentation of the picture galleries are some of the best I’ve seen for a while.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall