An Argentinian director is visiting (invited or not?) the legendary Barrandov Studios in Prague to try and interest the management in a film about Franz Kafka and his loves, in particular his romance with Milena Jesenská. As he arrives a group of extras in XVIII century garb comment on the movie they are filming, "about a German (!) composer for Americans, in English". Given the date Amadeus was released, this places the action in 1983. At that time, not everybody spoke English in Eastern Europe, so the director's job is compounded by the need for an interpreter at every step, and his quest seems inconclusive.
This plot line is then intermixed with the actual movie, an Argentine - Czech coproduction filmed at Barrandov with mostly Argentine cast and mostly Czech crew; the two stories meet at the end. The plot is a somewhat overheated version of Kafka's affair with Milena. She was an educated, liberated, rebellious woman and met him at a literary circle in Prague. Interested in his writing (anything but popular at the time) she translated one of Kafka's stories from German to Czech.. Their correspondence developed into something like a novel. On only two occasions they met in person. Their first meeting, in Vienna, was happy and full of promise. Kafka aspired to marry Milena but she was reluctant to dissolve her (less than happy) marriage. Kafka died in 1924 and Milena survived him for 20 years; after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis she joined the resistance and was deported to Ravensbrück, where she died.
I found this movie witty and amusing. The serious plot has been enclosed in a humorous cover. Jorge Marrale plays a good Kafka, somewhat hindered by his lack of similarity to the original. Excellent work from Susú Pecoraro (Milena) and Cecilia Roth (Kafka's sister); both actresses were at the beginning of brilliant careers. Production values such as cinematography and set and clothing design are excellent, up to Barrandov standards.
