Kafka

1991

Drama / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller

12
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 72% · 22 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 72% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 11048 11K

worker writer co-workers relationship kafka

Plot summary

After a colleague is murdered, insurance worker Kafka gets embroiled in an underground group who are attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society.

Director

Steven Soderbergh Photo
Steven Soderbergh

Top cast

Josef Sebek Photo
Josef Sebek as Inspector's Assistant
Jeremy Irons Photo
Jeremy Irons as Kafka
Ewan Stewart Photo
Ewan Stewart as Castle Attendant
Ian Holm Photo
Ian Holm as Dr. Murnau
720p.BluRay
902.99 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   ro  
23.976 fps
1 hr 38 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by timmons 7 / 10

a very good sci-fi portrayal of the totalitarian state

Kafka was a unique film that gave you the feeling it was made in the fifties, due to its black and white filming, slow development, and the complex thinking it required of its viewer. A portrait of how one man discovering a small error can hinder an omnipotent governmental institution, such as those described in Orwell's 1984, Steve Sodenburgh was able to realistically combine both the life and the writings of Kafka into one story line, giving the reader insights into Kafka's possible thought processes. The film was reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, with its setting and portrayal of government and it's enrapturing cinematography designed to illustrate the smallness of man against the state. A film most enjoyable if you have read some of Kafka's stories, it also is an intriguing and successful suspense.
Reviewed by fishermensmell 6 / 10

Enjoyable as a neo-noir, but ultimately trivializes Kafka's work

An engaging and intriguing thriller that cobbles together elements of The Castle, The Trial and others and then places Kafka in the heart of the mystery. Most of the film is shot in black and white in a German expressionist style with plenty of long shadows and awkward angles and features some excellent set design. The predominantly British cast are very enjoyable with the likes of Irons, Alec Guiness, Ian Holm, Brian Glover, Keith Allen and others putting in solid performances. The ending brings it all to a somewhat overly neat, story-driven and action-filled conclusion with a slightly sci-fi/horror element and stock dystopic, totalitarian characters and dialogue that feels rather adolescent. So, whilst the film celebrates Kafka's work, it paradoxically trivializes it by subjugating it in deference to a tonal shift and plot-driven ending that panders to audience/producer needs. Hence, it ends up scuppering its potential and feeling a bit more like 'Brazil' than a serious examination of Kafka and his works' themes. It's not apparent whether everyone involved had a clear vision of what this film is supposed to be and who it is geared towards.
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