在这部控制的极限剧情/悬疑/惊悚/犯罪片中,故事的主角是一个沉默的独行杀手（Isaach De Bankolé 饰），他永远只点两杯咖啡，在无聊的时候练习太极，不为任何诱惑所动。某日，他接受一项神秘的任务，随后启程前往西班牙马德里。在这里他必须和一个又一个联系人作单线联系，而联系的凭证便是红色或绿色的火柴盒。这些联系人中，有谨小慎微但热爱音乐的中年男子（路伊斯·托沙 Luis Tosar 饰），有打扮出众钟爱电影的白衣女子（蒂尔达·斯维顿 Tilda Swinton 饰），有醉心波希米亚文化的老人（约翰·赫特 John Hurt 饰），更有沉迷分子学的神秘东方女性（工藤夕贵 饰）。按照他们的指引，杀手一步步逼近了他的目标……
A solitary man who does not speak Spanish is an underground courier. Two men who are both thuggish and philosophical send him to Madrid with cryptic instructions. Over the course of a few days, he receives his instructions from a series of distinctive individuals who provide words of philosophy or of warning and also give him a matchbox with a tiny piece of paper, which he reads then eats, accompanied by espresso served in two cups. He is quiet, self-contained, focused on his work. He has rules. He encounters and at times transmits a violin, diamonds, a guitar, and a map. Is he a smuggler? Merely an independent conduit? Or, something else?
杀人的极限，泡妞的极限。一个漫长的冷笑话。兩杯espresso不等於一杯double espresso。dream or film。生活只是一抹尘埃，生活毫无意义。贾木许的飞跃。编辑 | 删除 一种影像，两种诗意 《控制的极限》vs 《重庆森林》。不是玩过头了。不是虚望，便是虚无。《控制的极限》：它尽力向电影这一门艺术的本质靠拢。
