So much average

How sad is this?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life" is a 22-minute short film from 20 years ago that won an Academy Award (tied with another film) and BAFTA Award. The title gives away the action pretty much already. This is very much influenced by the black-and-white James Stewart Christmas classic mixed with a kafkaesque take and finally Peter Capaldi's unique take on comedy. If you have seen some of his works, such as "In the Loop", you will know what I mean. Capaldi is mostly an actor, so it's a bit strange that his greatest achievement in terms of awards comes for a film he wrote and directed. He is mostly known recently for playing Doctor Who, which elevated his popularity a lot again. Anyway, this work here did not really convince me. I did not find it a too interesting or memorable effort, even if the mix-up of these 2 characters was certainly an interesting idea. All in all, not recommended.

Reality. It's a funny thing. Franz Kafka was a devoted Torah Jew. Therefore, it's difficult to plumb the depths to how vapid this "Academy Award-winning" short is. Rather than being a melange of styles which would make Kafka or Capra proud, it is a strange adaptation of, really, Dickens. I guess Kafka has similar phonemes to Capra, which has similar look to Capaldi, and we are all supposed to be mesmerized that Dr. Who wrote a teleplay.But even IF Kafka celebrated Christmas, which he most assuredly did not, or even IF Kafka resided in some neo-Victorian hostel, which he most assuredly did not, this "comedy" is unfunny, the "originality" is repetitive, and the sanctimoniousness with which it is presented, is both sleep-inducing and nausea-inducing.The special effects are only fair, the story makes absolutely no sense, the comic timing is WAY off, and it is NOT true that it rivals ANY Monty Python episode or vignette for larfs or snarfs. There is nothing surreal here, nothing paranoid, nothing noir - in short, nothing Kafkaesque. It is NOT Capraesque either, but merely a shadow of Dickensian which ought to star Burl Ives and Jaclyn Smith.I love Kafka and Kafkaesque. The Trial is one of my favorites. Metamorphosis is grand. This is drek.

Inventive and artistic, this beautiful flight of imagination is one of the greatest ideas ever composed and translated into a delightful cinematic experience. Matching together the creative genius of Franz Kafka with the positive outcomes of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" the short tells the difficult process of creating a novel, not in the sense of being something to be read but something to be felt and comprehended by readers of different generations, the greatest testament an artist can give to humanity. And believe it or not, one exact word can make a complete difference in a writing work. This strenuous mind exercise coming from a writer is the problematic basis for this amazing short film.Peter Capaldi imagines the conception of the now famed masterpiece "The Metamorphosis" with Kafka (played by Richard E. Grant) having a terrible writer's block in the very first sentence, the classical "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect". But here, he doesn't know what Gregor is about to be transformed not only because of his block but that also relates with distractions around him, with his loud neighbors celebrating a Christmas party and interrupting visitors who appear from time to time. What he least expects is that those individuals and the strange situations they're involved may be of help for his book. The mixture of elements, although strange and sometimes a little inadequate, is a good one. We have Kafka writing Gregor's story, then there's few glimpses of Gregor being transformed into multiple things before his final destination. Opressively, dramatic and spooky moments mixed with some strange humor, very characteristic in the works of the Polish writer. Later on the cheerful and bright conclusion borrowed from Capra's release comes along with a certain moral of the story that was a little off-suiting for this movie. It's one way of seeing things and it might work best with those who know little about the life and work of Franz Kafka, commonly known for sad and darker stories.I only disagree with the treatment given to the main character played as if being a soft version of Ebenezer Scrooge, far from the timid and repressed view given of Kafka in biographies. But Mr. Grant was good, just as effective as the mysterious man played by Ken Stott. And it's good to know that it all paid off, this Burtonesque film was agraciated with the Oscar as Best Short - Live Action, tied with "Trevor" and one Bafta. And who could have imagined that the hilarious performer of Malcolm Tucker is not only a great actor but also a talented writer and director. This is a solid proof. 9/10

Franz Kafka is probably still spinning over this one almost ten years after the fact. There are echos of suspense in this one, but mostly it resembles Python at its full-bore, full throttle best. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the costumer here also did costumes for The Python series. Too many moments to pick anything out, but it is absolutely wonderful. The incredibly serious among you will probably gnash teeth and pound thy breasts over the violation of Kafka, but the sufficiently twisted will love this! This won the Academy Award for Live-Action Short (in a tie with Trevor, he noted for accuracy's sake) and it's good to see this in print and available. Most highly recommended.