Franz is a 2025 biographical drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland and written by Marek Epstein. Starring Idan Weiss as Franz Kafka, it follows the author's life from his early teens in his hometown of Prague to his premature death in 1924.
The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September. It was selected as Poland's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
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Plot
Prague at the beginning of the 20th century: Franz Kafka (Idan Weiss) is torn between the strict expectations of his father Hermann (Peter Kurth), his monotonous daily routine at an insurance company, and his deep-rooted urge to write and thus give literary expression to his innermost feelings. His texts finally receive initial attention, while he continues to try to lead a life between conforming to others, such as his dominant father, and self-realisation. Viewers should be warned that the torture depicted in the visual rendering of Kafka’s short story “In the penal colony” could leave them traumatised. Time and again, Franz experiences intense relationships with women who enchant him to the utmost, inevitably facing the tensions between closeness and withdrawal. Supported by his friend and publisher Max Brod (Sebastian Schwarz), the picture emerges of a man searching for his place in the world – between a sense of duty, inner turmoil and creative expression.
Cast
Idan Weiss as Franz Kafka
Daniel Dongres as Young Franz
Peter Kurth as Hermann Kafka
Jenovéfa Boková as Milena Jesenská
Ivan Trojan as Siegfried Löwy, Kafka's uncle
Sandra Korzeniak as Julie Kafka
Carol Schuler as Felice Bauer
Sebastian Schwarz as Max Brod
Katarina Stark as Ottla Kafka
Anna Císařovská as Valli Kafka
Josef Trojan as Yitzchak Lowy
Aaron Friesz as Oskar Baum
Jan Budař as officer
Stanislav Majer as Adolf Just, sanatorium director
Emma Smetana as tour guide
Karel Dobrý as Pfohl
Gesa Schermuly as Grete Bloch
Production
The Franz screenplay was written by Holland and Marek Epstein based on a story by Epstein and Mike Downey. Principal photography began on 12 April 2024, in Prague and moved to Berlin at the end of May.
Release
Franz competed for the Golden Shell in the official selection of the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 59 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Capably carried by Idan Weiss and punctuated with subtle surrealism, Franz can't solve the mystery of Kafka but does a commendable job of recreating his artistic perspective."
In a review for Deadline, critic Damon Wise calls the film a "playful and oddly endearing biopic of the enigmatic Czech author."
Jared Marcel Pollen writes that the film tries "to present an unassuming, de-mythologized portrait of Kafka...."
Accolades
The film received the Grand Prix and the Youth Jury Award of the Tarnów Film Award (2026).
