Amerika (1994)

Vladimír Michálek chose an unconventional adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel for his feature debut. Artistically reminiscent of the classic films of Karel Zeman, the director reinterpreted ... See full summary »

Director:

Vladimír Michálek

Writers:

Martin Duba, Franz Kafka (novel)

Stars:

Olga Charvatova, Martin Dejdar, Radim Hladík Sr.

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Olga Charvatova	...	Mother Rossman
Martin Dejdar	...	Karel Rossman
Radim Hladík Sr.	...	Barman 2
Oldrich Kaiser	...	Delamarche
Katerina Kozakova	...	Tereza
Pavel Landovský	...	Robinson
Jirí Lábus	...	Uncle Jakob / father Rossman
Václav Marhoul	...	Barman
Pavel Nový	...	Green
Milan Riehs	...	Pollunder
Jarka Rytychová	...	Klara
Jan Schmid	...	Subal
Jirí Schmitzer	...	Stocker
Ladislav Skrabánek	...	Driver
Libuse Tomanová	...	Brunelda

Storyline

Vladimír Michálek chose an unconventional adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel for his feature debut. Artistically reminiscent of the classic films of Karel Zeman, the director reinterpreted this dark story of a man vainly seeking a place in a rigidly ordered society by changing the desperate conclusion into a happy end. The film provided Czech comedian Jirí Lábus with a new kind of role: that of the despotic uncle of a main hero Karel Rossman (Martin Dejdar).

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Plot Keywords:

dark comedy | uncle nephew relationship | tramp | testing | surrealism | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Amerika oder der Verschollene (1969)

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Soundtracks

Amerika
Written by LUCIE

User Reviews

Boring movie which fails as an adaptation

The movie started off fairly strong, but after a point the scenes lost connections with each other and I stopped caring. It moved at a very slow pace, and in the latter half I found myself constantly checking the time to see when it would end. There were several unnecessary changes and omissions from the book (They even leave out the bit explaining why he had to leave Europe), and the comedy which was a major component in the book is completely absent from the movie. There were even some changes that seem to have been specifically made in order to remove any traces of humor. Except for Uncle Jakob, the characters are also pretty undefined and have little in the way of personality, and at 29, Martin Dejdar looks a bit too old to play a 17 year old.

On a plus side, the production design was very well done, and reminds me somewhat of the movie “Brazil” on a lower budget. It is a shame that they didn’t bother to include the statue of liberty with a sword though, that would have made for a good image.

5/10

Details

Country:

Czech Republic

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

16 June 1994 (Czech Republic)

Also Known As:

Ameryka

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ceská Televize, Filmové studio Barrandov, Simply Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color