Postava k Odpírání
1963 / 38m - Czechoslovakia
Mystery
1.5*/5.0*
Joseph Kilián poster

Watches

September 08, 2020

1.5*/5.0*

A film that is often described as Kafkaesque. While I'm not that familiar with the work of Kafka, the overly bureaucratic society with a slightly absurd/surreal twist that forms the center of Joseph Kilián doesn't leave much room for interpretation. While that sounds intriguing enough, I can't say I enjoyed it much.

The short follows a man on the lookout for Joseph Kilián. When he stumbles upon a place that rents out cats, he decides to try it out. Upon bringing the cat back the next day, the shop is gone. And then some more random scenes that vaguely connect, but don't seem to go any place specific. Apparently communist critics rallied against this film, so no doubt there's a bit of subtext I missed.

Performances are rather wooden and uninteresting, the soundtrack is quite plain and even though there are one or two impressive shots, the cinematography overall isn't that remarkable either. This could've been fun if it had been a bit more atmospheric, the dry delivery and seemingly pointless ending killed it for me.