Franz Kafka's writings and the man himself are fascinating, and well worth getting acquainted if you haven't done so already. Steven Soderbergh, in an early effort of his, has done a good number of films that are worth watching. Other than Kafka himself though, there is a lot of immense talent in the intriguing cast and they also played a major factor in wanting to see 'Kafka'.
'Kafka', when seeing it for the first time recently, is not one of Soderbergh's best, not by a long shot. It is also not one of his most accessible, and may confuse, and has done, anybody unfamiliar with Kafka's work. It is a very worthwhile and fascinating film though and in my view it is better than given credit for, it is a shame that it was a critical and financial failure, as while it is less than perfect there are a lot of fine elements too. 'Kafka' is one of his more visually interesting and accomplished ones and stands out uniquely on a story level.
Visually, 'Kafka' looks amazing, with some of the most beautiful, atmospheric and interesting photography of its decade. If there was a contender for the best thing about the film, personally would award it to the photography. So many beautifully composed images that are both dreamlike and surreally nightmarish, fitting perfectly with the essence of Kafka's writing. The moody and foreboding shadows are suitably noir-ish and the photography really adds so much to how good Prague, surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, looks. The music is distinctively exotic without being jarring, actually adding to the strangeness when it appears and it is wisely not constant. Soderbergh's direction was indicative of someone who did care about the subject and wisely let the atmosphere breathe without being too dull.
Much of the story does work, thought the first half very well done. Deliberate but still involving with a hypnotic weirdness and suspense, like build ups to major events, that's a mix of frantic and slow-burning. Did find a few parts quite scary. Don't expect a biopic of Kafka himself, this is more a psychological thriller with the odd horror element, with some parts of his life inserted. Liked the Kafka references and classic film homages. The cast are near-uniformly splendid, with an admirably restrained Jeremy Irons giving one of his better performances as Kafka (speaking as a fan by the way). Ian Holm, Alec Guinness and particularly Armin Mueller-Stahl are the other cast standouts.
Only Theresa Russell, for my liking too strident and out of place, doesn't work of the cast. 'Kafka's' weak link is the script, though it did have a fair share of thoughtful and amusing moments early on, which had the spirit of Kafka and his work but lacked the meat of them and came over as sketchy/bare bones and at times clumsy.
As interesting and beautifully shot as it was (in Technicolor, do prefer the film in black and white though), the last 20 minutes or so did feel rushed and not mysterious enough, also feeling like it was lifted from another film.
In conclusion, interesting and well done film. 7/10
'Kafka', when seeing it for the first time recently, is not one of Soderbergh's best, not by a long shot. It is also not one of his most accessible, and may confuse, and has done, anybody unfamiliar with Kafka's work. It is a very worthwhile and fascinating film though and in my view it is better than given credit for, it is a shame that it was a critical and financial failure, as while it is less than perfect there are a lot of fine elements too. 'Kafka' is one of his more visually interesting and accomplished ones and stands out uniquely on a story level.
Visually, 'Kafka' looks amazing, with some of the most beautiful, atmospheric and interesting photography of its decade. If there was a contender for the best thing about the film, personally would award it to the photography. So many beautifully composed images that are both dreamlike and surreally nightmarish, fitting perfectly with the essence of Kafka's writing. The moody and foreboding shadows are suitably noir-ish and the photography really adds so much to how good Prague, surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, looks. The music is distinctively exotic without being jarring, actually adding to the strangeness when it appears and it is wisely not constant. Soderbergh's direction was indicative of someone who did care about the subject and wisely let the atmosphere breathe without being too dull.
Much of the story does work, thought the first half very well done. Deliberate but still involving with a hypnotic weirdness and suspense, like build ups to major events, that's a mix of frantic and slow-burning. Did find a few parts quite scary. Don't expect a biopic of Kafka himself, this is more a psychological thriller with the odd horror element, with some parts of his life inserted. Liked the Kafka references and classic film homages. The cast are near-uniformly splendid, with an admirably restrained Jeremy Irons giving one of his better performances as Kafka (speaking as a fan by the way). Ian Holm, Alec Guinness and particularly Armin Mueller-Stahl are the other cast standouts.
Only Theresa Russell, for my liking too strident and out of place, doesn't work of the cast. 'Kafka's' weak link is the script, though it did have a fair share of thoughtful and amusing moments early on, which had the spirit of Kafka and his work but lacked the meat of them and came over as sketchy/bare bones and at times clumsy.
As interesting and beautifully shot as it was (in Technicolor, do prefer the film in black and white though), the last 20 minutes or so did feel rushed and not mysterious enough, also feeling like it was lifted from another film.
In conclusion, interesting and well done film. 7/10