The Czech Film Center is part of the Czech Film Fund
Franz
Franz
Czech Republic, Germany, Poland / 120 min / Czech, German
Fiction
Franz
Franz
Czech Republic, Germany, Poland / 120 min / Czech, German
Fiction
This unique and original vision of Kafka’s life as see through the eyes of one of Europe’s greatest film makers represents a kaleidoscopic mosaic of events which describe the inner life of one of Europe’s greatest literary geniuses. To understand Kafka fully, we need to carefully piece together fragments from Kafka’s past to create a series of imaginative vignettes which demonstrate not only his life in the present, but also to create a comprehensive view of the dramatic world of Kafka’s imagination. Kafka is a soul of the third millenium, a man of great sensitivity and so ill-suited to his time, we have a much better chance of understanding him today than his peers had a century ago. Through this dramatic impression of Kafka’s life and work, we have a magical encounter with a very contemporary man who lives mentally largely outside the reality of his body.
Circle. It fascinates Kafka. He's not the first or last artist captivated by its symbolism. Allegedly, when ordered to send his best painting, Michelangelo drew a circle and set it with the message that if the Pope were truly wise, he would understand that there is no greater perfection than a circle. But Kafka perceives the circle not as an artistic object but as a boundary. A symbol of inner freedom. He often mentions in his diaries a painful desire to transcend this circle in which he is physically and mentally trapped to observe and evaluate the world from the outside. But when he tries to do so, a deep chasm opens up in his perception. The emptiness that unexpectedly separated him from the inner world inside the circle. He describes the state as if he owned a luxurious villa, which he is limited to looking at only from the outside. It is now robbed of its dazzling interior. However, if he remains inside, he will not be able to perceive the house in its holistic unity. To write, he must decide between form and content. The age-old puzzle. He does not find a solution during his short earthly existence. With the passing of time and rising awareness of his life and work, we can now claim that it was Kafka who became the boundary of freedom in his top works.
Cast / Idan Weiss , Jenovéfa Boková , Ivan Trojan , Peter Kurth , Katharina Stark , Josef Trojan Costumes / Michaela Hořejší Dop / Tomasz Namiuk Editor / Pavel Hrdlička Make up / Gabriela Poláková Set designer / Heinrich Boráros Writer / Marek Epstein , Agnieszka Holland
Completion date / December 2024