The film is partly based on the life of Franz Kafka and partly based on some of his novels, notably The Castle and The Trial. Steven Soderbergh makes the film in a sort of German expressionist style, that mixes in some film-noir traits and some Gothic style horror and some surreal scenes. All this is enhanced by being filmed mainly in Black and White. Jeremy Irons is the insurance clerk who gets involves in an underground group responsible for bombings and gets dragged into faceless bureaucracy.
3/5 
Jeremy Irons
Theresa Russell
Ian Holm
Alec Guinness
Brian Glover
Robert Flemyng