Franz Kafka (1992)

Director:

Piotr Dumala

Writer:

Piotr Dumala

4 wins.

Storyline

---

Genres:

Animation | Short | Biography

---

Details

Country:

Poland

Release Date:

May 1992 (Poland)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio Miniatur Filmowych

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dumala developed an interesting animation technique for this film: he used a thick board of plaster, and then covered it with paint that he could scrap off or paint over, animating with a stand-up camera, in a process similar to oil paint animation or sand animation.

User Reviews

Beautifully made, but where's the story?

The environment and some characteristics of writer Franz Kafka's works are present in this well-made animation directed by Piotr Dumala, entitled "Franz Kafka". In its 16 minutes, Dumala delivers a surrealistic view on Kafka in a story that doesn't tell us about his life, but perhaps it tells something about his inspirations, an exquisite and confused picture with no storyline, barely has a narrative or a meaning.

What makes this animated film interesting is the animation itself, just as dark and shadowy like Kafka's writings, in a black and white cinematography along with a melancholic music; some references of "The Metamorphosis" (there's a few bugs in the story that seem to attract Franz), and, of course, the visual figure of Franz, very look-a-like to the real Kafka, pictures of him can be found in books and on the internet. But the animated Kafka was very real and I loved it.

The experience is very hard to describe, you really must see it for yourself. I can't pick one scene or other and make a detailed account of it without sounding like a confused person who doesn't know how to write, or without any point, anything meaningful to say. I really don't know what to say about the story because there is none, everything moves and happens with Kafka, in absurd ways that keeps one guessing why such things happened (okay, one scene ahead: at the ending he's transformed into an animal, out of nowhere).

It's nice to see, a little bit sleepy at parts even with its short running time, visually impressive but it lacks of a story or something more than just paying an homage to one of the greatest writers of all time. 6/10