Direction: Agnieszka Holland
Country: Czech Republic / Poland / other
The visually accomplished, if emotionally bland, biopic Franz, centered on the life of the inimitable author Franz Kafka, is directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa, 1990; In Darkness, 2011; Green Border, 2023). Blending the mundane aspects of the writer’s life with the surrealism of his ingenious literary creations, the film nevertheless falls short of delivering an exciting portrait. Somewhat meandering in structure, it lacks the balls to delve deeper into the Kafkaesque eccentricities and opaqueness we all love.
Unnecessary and irrelevant present-day segments—mostly focused on tourist attractions related to the author—sit uneasily within a narrative flow that is already wobbly in several respects. That’s sadly the case with this capably acted yet emotionally lifeless film. Holland, who cited Peter Watkins’ Edvard Munch (1974) as a major inspiration, has missed an opportunity here.
