A new light Kafka was far from Kafkaesque, biopic shows

The word Kafkaesque has come to describe the sensation of powerlessness when dealing with bureaucracy; of getting lost in labyrinthine administrative errands, being shut out by faceless officialdom and having your hopes strangled by red tape.

- Philip Oltermann

But Kafkaesque does not match the life of the man who lent the term his name, according to a biopic of the Prague-born author.

In a six-part television series for the German broadcaster ARD, Franz Kafka is depicted not so much as a victim of bureaucracy but as a master of it - and an effective one at that. The fourth episode of Kafka, which is available on Channel 4's Walter Presents from the end of May, shows the author of The Trial knew how to navigate bureaucratic systems better than most from the inside.

As a clerk for the Workers' Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia, Kafka, played by the Swiss actor Joel Basman, is shown to excel at his day job.

He crushes opposing lawyers in arbitration courts. "If a case can be won at all, then Kafka is going to win it," one of his superiors says.