Kafka (1991)

Writer Franz Kafka works during the day at an insurance company where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppressive goals.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer:

Lem Dobbs

Stars:

Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell, Joel Grey

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Hilde Van Meighem)
Jan Nemejovský	...	Mustachioed Anarchist

Storyline

Kafka, an insurance worker gets embroiled in an underground group after a co-worker is murdered. The underground group is responsible for bombings all over town, attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society. He eventually penetrates the secret organization and must confront them.

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Plot Keywords:

secret | worker | writer | co worker | anarchy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Delitti e segreti

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baltimore Pictures, Pricel, Renn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 92 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Loosely based on Franz Kafka's novel, "The Castle". In it a protagonist, known only as K., struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities of a castle who govern the village for unknown reasons. Kafka died before finishing the work.

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Quotes

Gabriela: If I waited for you to understand, it would be too late.

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Connections

Referenced in And Everything Is Going Fine (2010)

User Reviews

Definitely not a case of "sophomore slump"

Some see this film as a step down from Steven Soderbergh's brilliantly-constructed debut feature, "sex, lies and videotape." I see it as a significant step in his artistic development (even if its commercial and critical failure limited the audiences for his next several films). Certainly no one expected him to follow the low-key, character-driven "sex, lies" with such a complicated, stylized film as "Kafka."

An inspired script by Lem Dobbs and a great cast drive Soderbergh's visually rich film. Besides the leads, of note are Joel Grey as the self-important bureaucrat Burgel, Brian Glover as the menacing Castle Henchman, and Keith Allen and Simon McBurney as Kafka's side-splittingly incompetent "assistants." And Cliff Martinez's score (inspired by "The Third Man") is ingenious.

To call this film underrated would be a severe understatement.