''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1993 British short

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film written and directed by

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker i ...

. It stars Richard E. Grant as

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

and co-stars

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play ''Broken Glass (play), Broken Glass'' at Royal National Thea ...

. The title refers to the name of the writer Franz Kafka and the 1946 film '' It's a Wonderful Life'', directed by

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

, and the plot takes the concept of the two to absurd depths. The film features a rendition of "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from the 1910

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

'' Naughty Marietta''. In 1994, the short won the

BAFTA Award for Best Short Film The BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film is a film award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the annual British Academy Film Awards. BAFTA is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, ...

. The following year it won the

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

, tying with '' Trevor''.

Synopsis

The great writer

is about to write his famous 1915 work, ''

The Metamorphosis ''The Metamorphosis'' (), also translated as ''The Transformation'', is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inex ...

'', but inspiration is lacking, and he suffers continual interruptions.

Cast

* Richard E. Grant –

* Crispin Letts – Gregor Samsa *

– Woland the Knifeman * Elaine Collins – Miss Cicely *

Phyllis Logan Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for ...

– Frau Bunofsky * Julie Cox – Party Girl * Jessie Doyle – Party Girl * Samantha Howarth – Party Girl * Justine Luxton – Party Girl * Laura Reiss – Party Girl * Thea Tait – Party Girl * Lucy Woodhouse – Party Girl

Accolades

References

External links

*
Full record for ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life''
at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

1993 films 1993 comedy films Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners Works about Franz Kafka Cultural depictions of Franz Kafka Films directed by Peter Capaldi Scottish films BBC Scotland television shows 1993 short films British comedy short films 1990s English-language films English-language comedy short films {{short-comedy-film-stub Films about disability