Franz K.

Prague, at the beginning of the 20th century: Franz Kafka is torn between the authority of his demanding father, the routine of working in an insurance office, and the quiet longing for artistic expression. As his texts begin to find their first readers, the journey of a young man unfolds – a man who longs for normality, yet encounters the contradictions of life, writes literary history, and repeatedly falls head over heels in love. Driven by love, imagination, and the desire for respect, and supported by his friend and publisher Max Brod, there emerges a portrait both touching and bizarre of one of the most fascinating thinkers of modern times. A film like Kafka’s own work: surprising, poetic, unforgettable.

With FRANZ K., Agnieszka Holland succeeds in creating an original approach to the man Kafka, embedded in a narrative that spans a century. She finds sensual, surrealist imagery that brings Kafka closer to us as a human being and makes his inner world tangible. At the same time, she captures both the monotony and confinement of his daily life, as well as the complexity of his character and the multilingual nature of his time.