Kafka (1991)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer (WGA):

Lem Dobbs (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Kafka, an insurance worker gets embroiled in an underground group after a co-worker is murdered. The...

Plot Keywords:

Co Worker | Kafka Esque | Alternative Reality | Skin Disease | Steampunk

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeremy Irons	...	Kafka
Theresa Russell	...	Gabriela
Joel Grey	...	Burgel
Ian Holm	...	Doctor Murnau
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Bizzlebek
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Grubach
Alec Guinness	...	The Chief Clerk
Brian Glover	...	Castle Henchman
Keith Allen	...	Assistant Ludwig
Simon McBurney	...	Assistant Oscar
Robert Flemyng	...	The Keeper of the Files
Matyelok Gibbs	...	Concierge
Ion Caramitru	...	Solemn Anarchist
Hilde Van Mieghem	...	Female Anarchist
Jan Nemejovsky	...	Mustachioed Anarchist

Also Known As:

Kafka (France)

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:92 min (TV version)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Quotes:

Chief Clerk: Kafka... I understand you fancy yourself as a writer.
Franz Kafka: [shrugs] In a small way.
Chief Clerk: You should find a more... athletic hobby. Put some color in your cheeks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II' (2002) (V)

Kafka, brought to life by Soderbergh

Many filmmakers have often failed when attempting to adapt the work of writer Franz Kafka (most famously Orson Wells), so it comes as quite a surprise to see Steven Soderbergh mixing his life and fiction with fantastic results. The story concerns Kafka (a never better Jeremy Irons) investigating the disappearance of one of his work colleagues. The plot takes Kafka through many of the writer's own works, most notably "The Castle" and "The Trial"...

With his follow up to the cool indie hit Sex, lies and videotape (1989) Soderbergh switches both style and ideas completely, creating an evocative and ethereal world of 1920 Prague, full of shadows and bizarre mutations. He also employs shifts between colour and black and white film stock, to give the film a more dreamlike feel.

Visually it is similar to another film from the same year, Lars Von Trier's Europa (1991), which also was about a man searching for the truth. But Kafka is more accessible, being both a gripping thriller and in some ways a black comedy. But however you choose to look at it, there is no denying Kafka's ability to amaze and enthral.