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)
Delitti e segreti (Italy) [it]
Kafka (Germany) [de]
Kafka (Greece) [el]
Kafka (Finland) [fi]
Kafka, la verdad oculta (Spain) [es]

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, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Quotes:

Oscar: It's not too bad working here, though.
Franz Kafka: You've never felt it was a horrible double life, from which there was probably no escape but insanity?
Ludwig: Yes!
Oscar: No.
Ludwig: No.

Movie Connections:

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

It's all a conspiracy...

This is a really weird movie. People will instantly recognize that it is an adaptation of Franz Kafka's writing, and that's exactly what it is. It isn't an adaptation of any one book of his, but rather of his writing as a whole. All the Kafka-esquire things you'd expect are here: conspiracy, paranoia, mystery, and the like. What is so amazing that they come together absolutely fantastically. The cinematography is especially ingenious and really captures the mysterious and cryptic look and feel of a Kafka tale. The use of color and B&W is pretty simple, but very effective. In fact the whole movie is pretty simple, there are no spectacular stunts or extraordinary set pieces, just a relentless, nail-biting, suspense as Kafka searches for answers to who murdered his friend. He receives help from a supposed rebel group who talks of a secret order and conspiracy that works from the confines of a mysterious looking building outside of town, but they are soon murdered...so Kafka goes to find the truth for himself. First-rate suspense all the way. 10/10

Rated PG-13: some violence and grim content