While the world may be eternally grateful to Max Brod for preserving some of the greatest works of 20th century literature and transforming Franz Kafka into a global cultural icon, Kafka himself may be turning in his grave. Kafka’s final wish stated that “all that is left in my estate must be burned completely, without reading”, was famously disregarded by his closest friend, and the rest is literary history. However, nearly a century after Kafka’s untimely death, the fate of his invaluable manuscripts is at the heart of a heated debate involving millions of dollars and political wrangling between Israel and Germany.

 

The film follows the manuscripts from their initial journey in Brod’s suitcase from Nazi occupied Europe to Israel, to their current location, gathering dust in a run down Tel Aviv apartment, closely guarded by an unstable, eccentric woman and dozens of cats. The result is a twisted, bizarre detective story, whose irony and absurdity would not have been lost on the great man himself.