Franz: Agnieszka Holland’s biopic of Czech writer Franz Kafka respects his brand of literature and assumes he had an unusual mind, making the correct choice of a subjective style to showcase his life. The film uses a fragmented, non-linear structure, filled with modern-day asides that are evidence of his status as a star. The performances are generally effective but unspectacular: Idan Weiss plays the protagonist as an adult, a man with an unusual attitude towards most anything; Peter Kurth plays his overbearing, demanding father; Katharina Stark, his closest and most sympathetic sister. The film does feel a bit overlong, mostly because while quite an interesting character, Kafka is not emotionally engaging. The production design (by Henrich Boraros) and costume design (by Michaela Horejsí) are very well done. Editor Pavel Hrdlicka (often with the help of cinematographer Tomasz Naumiuk’s well-constructed shots) makes this complex structure work.