Franz K.

Prague at the beginning of the 20th century: Franz Kafka is torn between the authority of his domineering father, the routine of his job at an insurance office, and a quiet longing for artistic fulfilment. As his writings begin to find their first readers, a young man sets out on a journey in search of an ordinary life, only to repeatedly collide with the contradictions of his era and his own existence. Amid love affairs, fantasy, and a yearning for recognition, a body of work emerges that will go on to make literary history.

Agnieszka Holland crafts an unconventional biopic about one of the most important German-language authors of modernity. Through sensual and surreal imagery, the Oscar-nominated director creates a fascinating kaleidoscope between past and present while capturing the intellectual climate of the early 20th century.