In Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, Franz Kafka (Idan Weiss) doesn’t allow himself to be consumed by the monotonous and ordinary insurance work he’s forced to do for a living and instead channels all his energy into writing, producing boundary-pushing stories that will not be appreciated until after his lifetime.
Awards Buzz had the chance to speak with Holland about what she knew of her subject and what prompted her to realize that she wanted to make an unconventional film about this infamous historical figure:
“It was fascinating to me to see his life after life, and to see that paradox that one of the most intimist and the shiest artist you can imagine who didn’t his work to survive him, that he’s suddenly such a celebrity and a brand. I was following the tours. I was listening to what the guides were telling and the description of his life and the places he went. I started to think that I have to try to find him, to look for him under the piles of books and biographies and the analyses and the doctorates and whatever scientific books and popular culture, that gadget culture which he became a part of. I thought maybe it’s time for me to do it. Kafka is not somebody where you can do the regular classical biopic. So we went on the journey, together with the screenwriter [Marek Epstein] who I had also worked with before, and for him it was totally new adventure because he usually writes very classical, very well-crafted scripts.”
Watch the video above to hear if she expects her audience to know anything about Kafka going on and whether she thinks that contributes to or takes away from the experience of watching the film and getting to know her protagonist through its lens.
Franz is now playing in theaters.
