The Castle

Das Schloß

Adapted from Kafka’s unfinished novel, this unnerving descent into a labyrinth of bureaucratic confusion masterfully evokes the writer’s tone and vision.

  • Director

    Michael Haneke

  • With

    Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Nikolaus Paryla

  • Austria-Germany-France 1997. 123min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    12A

  • English subtitles

K. has been appointed as the land surveyor in an oppressive, snow-laden village. However, he lacks the correct paperwork for his role. The appropriate authority at the castle is unavailable, but even so is not at liberty to discuss the issue at hand. Playing a man trapped in a bureaucratic hellscape of Franz Kafka’s crafting, Ulrich Mühe brilliantly captures K’s bewilderment and despair as he is suffocated by red tape.