By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Tallulah Schwab
Starring: Bjørn Sundquist | Crispin Glover | Dearbhla Molloy | Fionnula Flanagan | Sunnyi Melles
Year: 2024
Running time: 94
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7972570/reference/
Brett says: “Finally, a movie for those of us trapped in our own respective minds! But wait, surely there have been others featuring this concept, right? Did I just make a fool of myself? How do I get out of this mess I’ve put myself in now? Are people going to compare me to J. Alfred Prufrock when they read this? I could start over, but I’ve come too far now.
“MR. K is a film from director Tallulah Schwab about a down-on-his-luck travelling magician who plans an overnight stay in a hotel after a performance. Right from the start, the art direction and set design is a captivating series of choices, foreshadowing the bizarre and surreal series of encounters that are about to come. The title character, in a marvelous performance from Crispin Glover, is almost a model Franz Kafka-esque persona, and likely the reason for the ‘K’ moniker in his name. Mr. K. realizes the hospitality from the hotel is lacking from the start, but he goes along with it as a simple sacrifice for what he just expects to be a good night’s rest. Why speak up? After all, inconveniences are just in the eye of the beholder, yes? Steadily, his frustrations start to mount, but like the numerous Gregor Samsas (THE METAMORPHOSIS) of the world, what is he actually willing to do about it? Fitting with the Kafka theme of giving characters some of the most mundane or unrewarding professions, Mr. K’s magic act is perfect since it is such a hit-or-miss pursuit as is; that is, sure, there are successful magicians, but the number of those who repeatedly struggle at securing a wide audience or a sense of self-assuredness in the pursuit seem to be a higher percentage of the field when looking through a general societal lens. Attempting to quantify or qualify success aside, the peculiarity of Mr. K’s profession works wonders for this particular script, especially as he rises in societal status in this convoluted new ‘world’ all his own.
“Mr. K’s anxiety is portrayed effectively enough to make most audience members wriggle or cringe. Thus, like any good Kafka novel or novella, the mileage on how audiences choose to react to such a pathetic (or pathetic-adjacent) character who makes them feel this way will vary. Mr. K is surrounded by things bigger than him, the hotel its own microcosm of a world that swallows people up, leaving them confused, indecisive, and looking for the right path. The film is existential to its very core.
“Part of the leaps in surrealism that the film takes might be perceived as a derailment at times when juxtaposed with other surrealist depictions earlier in the film. However, the deeper Mr. K gets into his own existential crises, one could argue that the leaps are warranted. All flims can’t be uplifting and contain storybook endings, and for what themes and sensibilities Schwab seems to be targeting with this particular movie, it hits the mark: uncomfortable and a slog though it may seem at times. Welcome to Kafka-esque anxiety in cinematic form.
“5 CATS OUT OF 5“