gavin6942 Writer Franz Kafka (Jeremy Irons) works during the day at an insurance company where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppression goals.I was not aware of this film until now (2016), and boy was I missing out. What a great blend of Kafka's real life and his world of literature that had a strong disdain for bureaucracy. At some points I was not sure where Kafka's real life ended and the illusion began. (Presumably most is fiction, but enough truth seeps through.) This film also had an excellent use of color. Most of the film, in fact, has no color at all. And when that can be done effectively, as it is here, it has a certain power that color never can. And then when the scenes have color, it means so much more than if it was there in every frame.

CinefanR This is human nature under a magnifying glass.What an interesting cinematic experience... A memorable performance, as usual, by Jeremy Irons, whose trademark tormented restraint and meditative quietness make a compelling Kafka; the haunting, adequate cimbalom music with Romanian undertones; and the beautiful, mysterious Prague - these are only the first elements that get your attention. Mixing biographical detail with fiction is a clever trick, and the streets of Prague add a sense of claustrophobia and eeriness, enhanced by the black-and-white cinematography.The movie may not ring "true to Kafka" to everyone - surely, that's impossible - but I found it commendable as a daring experiment. Novel adaptations are rarely satisfying, so of course, some Kafka readers may feel uncomfortable or disappointed. Steven Soderbergh, who has a penchant for The Absurd (the dazzling "Schizopolis" comes to mind), is clearly an admirer of Kafka's work, and this interpretation feels like a personal homage to the great writer. Despite some clumsiness in the dialogue here and there, which is its main weakness, that "Kafkaesque" dreamlike quality is clearly present all throughout. Timeless exploration of the mind, filled with philosophical questions and sharp social commentary, "Kafka" ranks up there with the great "1984" and "Brazil".Recommended to everybody, not just to those who enjoy the theater of the absurd or Kafka in particular.

ccthemovieman-1 Despite the excellent black-and-white cinematography (which is seen for all but 15 minutes of this film), I canned this movie from my collection because the story was almost incomprehensible. It also was too depressing, too gloomy.This really is more of a horror film than anything else with a few uncomfortable scenes as people are being killed and/or used as guinea pigs in experiments. I would think this would not appeal to most people who aren't in some form of counseling or therapy (or should be!). Yet, that wonderful film-noir photography with great lights and shadows, made it intriguing to view.....once.

avrilwibert I just like Prague, what a beautiful place to photograph, how many deeply associative, almost mythical, images does one come across in Prague, castles and winding rivers and bridges and gargoyles and cobblestone squares and narrow alleys with walkway overpasses and dark old European colours. Plus I love Kafka, and anyone who holds a deep respect for Kafka will take pleasure in imagining his what his real life experiences may have been like if his real life experiences had included events analogous to those that take place in The Castle, which I have never read actually, but I think the events of the movie are taken from the events in that story. Anyway, though, Prague is beautiful and so is Kafka's writing. I've been to the Jewish quarter of Prague, Kafka's birth place, and the Jewish cemetery—it's otherworldly and the real life city now has the kind of romance in it that we usually find only in movies and novels and paintings and other forms of imagining—so, it's a wonderful place to shoot a movie.