Kafka works during the day at an insurance company, where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppressive goals.Kafka works during the day at an insurance company, where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppressive goals.Kafka works during the day at an insurance company, where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppressive goals.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Hilde Van Mieghem
- Female Anarchist
- (as Hilde Van Meighem)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJust before going to the Castle, Kafka (Jeremy Irons) ask Bizzlebek (Jeroen Krabbé) to burn his manuscripts if he never came back. Bizzlebek replies "such an extraordinary request". This is in reference of the real request Kafka asked his friend Max Brod before dying. Brod couldn't go with the request, and had Kafka's work published.
- GoofsIn Gabriela's house, Inspector Grubach holds a record with a label of the Czech recording company Supraphon. The Supraphon name was first trademarked in 1932, eight years after Kafka's death.
- Quotes
Chief Clerk: Oh, I know you were friendly with that poor fellow, what was his name -
Franz Kafka: Raban... Eduard Raban.
Chief Clerk: Yes, yes, Raban. But he was too like you. Even more like you, perhaps, than you are yourself.
- SoundtracksEddie's Dead (Main Title)
Composed by Cliff Martinez
(p) & © 1992 Virgin Records America, Inc.
distributed by WEA through arrangement with Atlantic Records.
Featured review
Kafka, brought to life by Soderbergh
Many filmmakers have often failed when attempting to adapt the work of writer Franz Kafka (most famously Orson Wells), so it comes as quite a surprise to see Steven Soderbergh mixing his life and fiction with fantastic results. The story concerns Kafka (a never better Jeremy Irons) investigating the disappearance of one of his work colleagues. The plot takes Kafka through many of the writer's own works, most notably "The Castle" and "The Trial"...
With his follow up to the cool indie hit Sex, lies and videotape (1989) Soderbergh switches both style and ideas completely, creating an evocative and ethereal world of 1920 Prague, full of shadows and bizarre mutations. He also employs shifts between colour and black and white film stock, to give the film a more dreamlike feel.
Visually it is similar to another film from the same year, Lars Von Trier's Europa (1991), which also was about a man searching for the truth. But Kafka is more accessible, being both a gripping thriller and in some ways a black comedy. But however you choose to look at it, there is no denying Kafka's ability to amaze and enthral.
With his follow up to the cool indie hit Sex, lies and videotape (1989) Soderbergh switches both style and ideas completely, creating an evocative and ethereal world of 1920 Prague, full of shadows and bizarre mutations. He also employs shifts between colour and black and white film stock, to give the film a more dreamlike feel.
Visually it is similar to another film from the same year, Lars Von Trier's Europa (1991), which also was about a man searching for the truth. But Kafka is more accessible, being both a gripping thriller and in some ways a black comedy. But however you choose to look at it, there is no denying Kafka's ability to amaze and enthral.
helpful•4110
- jonathandoe_se7en
- Jul 14, 2001
- How long is Kafka?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $11,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,059,071
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $40,814
- Dec 8, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $1,059,071
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content