K, a land surveyor, comes to work in a remote mountain town and is confronted with a confusing local bureaucracy. Seeing life as a chain of meaningless events, K remains hopeful, but the constant misunderstandings and illogical demands slowly crush his spirit. The Castle is Franz Kafka's unfinished last novel, in which life is depicted as an invisible prison. Director Michael Haneke masterfully conveys the writer's dystopian vision by faithfully following the original language and tone of the novel. "Kafka touches me the most poignantly of all authors. His characters cast the longest shadow, even in a world without a sun," said Haneke.
About the film
Details
- Running time
- 1 hr. 57 min.
- Country, year
- Austria, Germany, France, 1997
- Genre
- Thriller, Mystical
- Language
- German
- Subtitles
- Lithuanian, English
- Age rating
- Pegi 13
Credits
- Director
- Michael Haneke
- Screenplay
- Michael Haneke, Franz Kafka
- Producers
- Wega Film
- Cinematography
- Helmut Ehringer, Stefan Haring, Thomas Hollaus
- Cast
- Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Frank Giering, Felix Eitner
- More information
- www.imdb.com
Director
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke studied philosophy, psychology and theatre in Vienna and began his career working in German theatre and television. His debut film, The Seventh Continent, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989, where The Piano Teacher (2001) won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize, and Caché (2005) won Best Director. The Palme d'Or at Cannes also went to White Ribbon (2009) and Amour (2012). The latter also won the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Haneke is renowned as one of the world's most influential directors for his accurate, mature and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary society in film. In 2017, Scanorama held a retrospective of Haneke's films.
