The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Kafka
Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction · 1991
After a colleague is murdered, insurance worker Kafka gets embroiled in an underground group who are attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society.
Movie details
Kafka
“To solve a mystery he will enter a nightmare.”
1991 Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
After a colleague is murdered, insurance worker Kafka gets embroiled in an underground group who are attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Kafka?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Light of My Life
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Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
Triage
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The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.
Shirley
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A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
The Good Doctor
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Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. However, when her health starts improving, Martin fears losing her, so he begins tampering with her treatment, keeping Diane sick and in the hospital right next to him.
The Congress
Drama · 2013
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Black Butterfly
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Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.
The Zero Theorem
Drama · 2013
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
Fahrenheit 451
Drama · 1966
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Steven Soderbergh
Written by
Lem Dobbs
Jeremy Irons
Kafka
Theresa Russell
Gabriela
Joel Grey
Burgel
Ian Holm
Dr. Murnau
Jeroen Krabbé
Bizzlebek
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Grubach
Alec Guinness
The Chief Clerk
Court is in session
Put Kafka on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.