Movies

Franz Kafka is torn between the strict expectations of his father, Hermann, his monotonous job at an insurance company and his deeply rooted need to express his innermost feelings through literature. While his texts are finally beginning to attract attention, he continues to try and live a life of self-fulfilment while adapting to others.

Acclaimed Polish director Agnieszka Holland returns with an ambitious biographical drama offering a fresh perspective on the life of one of the most significant writers of the 20th century.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), 'Franz' is conceived as a 'kaleidoscopic mosaic' that follows Kafka's life from his birth in Prague through his mundane daily routine and troubled romantic relationships to his death in Vienna after the First World War. Key relationships in his life — his tense bond with his father, his long-standing friendship with Max Brod, and his intellectual and emotional connections with Felice Bauer and Milena Jesenská — serve as 'springboards' across time, linking his life to the contemporary era. Blending fiction, archival materials, and stylised reconstructions, the film blurs the boundaries between reality and Kafka’s surreal literary visions.