Film
Kafka's Last Journey

Documentary film about Kafka's last days

Thu, 17.10.2024
7:00 PM Goethe-Institut Korea Library

Franz Kafka spent the last 46 days of his life, from April 19 to June 3, 1924, in a small sanatorium in the village of Kierling, near the city Klosterneuburg, close to Vienna. His partner, Dora Diamant, was by his side, along with his friend, medical student Robert Klopstock. This period was marked by Kafka's terminal illness, laryngeal tuberculosis, as well as by intense interactions with family and friends, along with memories, everyday observations, literary projects, despair, and hope.

The documentary "Kafka's Last Journey," produced by Kafka editor Hans-Gerd Koch and filmmaker Clemens Schmiedbauer, traces the author’s final life stages from Prague to the sanatorium in Kierling. It showcases letters and documents that express the ill writer’s desperate search for improvement. Interviews with Kafka researchers aim to provide insights into the author during his final phase of life. A medical historian explains Kafka’s illness progression and the helplessness of doctors at that time.

The film "Kafka's Last Journey" (in the original German with English and Korean subtitles) will be presented at the Goethe-Institut Korea as part of its thematic focus on Kafka. The introduction will be given by Professor Jang Eun-su, a Germanist and director at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.   

This event is held in cooperation with the Austrian Embassy in Seoul and the Goethe-Institut Korea.