Kafka (1991) the movie!

Check out the trailer above for Kafka (1991), the little known biopic with the following impressive cast list:

Jeremy Irons as Mr. Kafka
Theresa Russell as Gabriela
Joel Grey as Mr. Burgel
Sir Ian Holm as Doctor Murnau
Jeroen Krabbé as Mr. Bizzlebek
Armin Mueller-Stahl as Inspector Grubach
Sir Alec Guinness as Chief clerk
Brian Glover as Castle henchman
Keith Allen as Assistant Ludwig

It's not unsurprising that this film is not better known, given the dark and disturbing subject matter. (We are in Kafka territory after all!) It continues to baffle some, but was clearly a passionate personal project of director Steven Soderbergh, and acts as a kind of sequel to his influential first film, the much better known Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) with James Spader and Andie McDowell. I would recommend Kafka as a directorial curiosity, though, and for the impressive performances of its cast, especially Jeremy Irons as "Mr. Kafka", even though the film is somewhat plotless without being satisfying, and ultimately fails to hang together.