The idea of putting a real character into a fictional situation can reap rich dramatic rewards if done right and director Steven Soderbergh's Kafka largely succeeds. The basic story, set in Prague just after World War One, has writer Franz Kafka (Jeremy Irons) working as a lowly insurance company clerk. After being introduced to a group of anarchists by a co-worker (Theresa Russell) he is drawn unwillingly into a series of events that leads to murder. Although there are shades of Kafka the writer here, the film is basically a simple murder mystery. Having said that, it is well done and effectively atmospheric. Despite being physically rather miscast, Irons works well as the retiring, paranoid Kafka. Orson Welles' The Trial is a far better reflection of Kafka's writing, but this is a more accessible drama.

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