SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Abbigail Bush
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Kirandeep Yoder
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
MartinHafer
This film is for anyone who has actually read Kafka--and not just the CliffNotes! Because he is one of those "great and important authors" we hear about in literature, most likely very few people ever got around to actually reading his work. Plus, to make things worse, Kafka had a bad habit of dying and not finishing his stories! What nerve! So, if you have actually read Kafka, then this film is for you--others need not bother.The film shows Richard E. Grant as Kafka and he's in the middle of writing "Metamorphosis"--the story of a guy who, believe it or not, wakes up to find himself a giant cockroach! This is the actual story--not something I am making up! However, in the film, Kafka has a terrible case of writer's block as he tries to work through the plot. He's to the point where the man wakes up and finds that he's become a.....and then SOMETHING interrupts! It's either neighbors in another flat partying loudly, a loud saleslady delivering something to the wrong apartment, a professional knife sharpener looking for his conscience ("Jimminy Cockroach") or bugs running about his apartment.It's all a very well made absurdist sort of parody that will make you laugh if, and only if, you understand the jokes. A wonderful film for literature professors and lunatics like myself who have actually read Kafka--all others need not apply.
Robert Reynolds
Franz Kafka is probably still spinning over this one almost ten years after the fact. There are echos of suspense in this one, but mostly it resembles Python at its full-bore, full throttle best. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the costumer here also did costumes for The Python series. Too many moments to pick anything out, but it is absolutely wonderful. The incredibly serious among you will probably gnash teeth and pound thy breasts over the violation of Kafka, but the sufficiently twisted will love this! This won the Academy Award for Live-Action Short (in a tie with Trevor, he noted for accuracy's sake) and it's good to see this in print and available. Most highly recommended.
John Langbein (medrjel)
When I saw this, I was intrigued. I was pleasantly suprised at it's dark, yet light style of wit. It will make you tense, then you will laugh.
To describe it is really to give a lot away. Just check it out if you get a chance.
RayG
As its name suggests, this short film cross-breeds Kafka with Capra. Kafka is pestered by neighbours, children, and the sinister Woland the Knifeman (who suspects Kakfa of killing his pet beetle). This is a delightful dark comedy pastiche, Richard E Grant performing at his nervy best in a sinister but ultimately heartwarming film.
