If you’ve ever fallen out of your wheelchair, you’re probably familiar with the view from the floor. It offers a different perspective to consider a room: Couches look rather tall, socks that have disappeared for a few months lie in direct sight, or for Rupaszov — a former fire fighter turned wheelchair-using hit man in the Hungarian action film Kills on Wheels — a tumble to the floor offers the perfect shooting angle to the bleach blond gangster he’s been tasked with eliminating.
The scene, in which Rupaszov (Szabolcs Thuróczy) is carried down a flight of stairs by a pair of burly body guards, before dispatching said body guards with a few well-placed bullets and finishing the job from the floor, is emblematic of Kills on Wheels as a whole: It’s fun, fast-paced, violent, and doesn’t shy away from an unvarnished depiction of the details of living with a disability.
Rupaszov’s superhero level shooting skills are contrasted with his escape from the same house: Pushing up a steep ramp he has to stop a few times to catch his breath and rest his arms. Whether or not he and his waiting apprentices, Zoli (Zoltán Fenyvesi) and Barba (Adám Fekete), are able to evade the police boils down to how quickly they are able to transfer to and from a car and break down their wheelchairs. It is not the quickest process. “I could fry an egg in less time, for fuck’s sake,” grumbles Rupaszov as Zoli fumbles to get the wheel onto his chair amidst the sound of blaring sirens.
The film centers on Zoli and Barba — two young men who are roommates in a group home for people with physical disabilities. Zoli has spina bifida, and Barba has cerebral palsy. Both come off as typical young folk. Zoli is constantly on his phone, listening to house music and worrying over social media posts, while Barba lives in a constant state of nerves over being prepared to “meet some chicks.”