Claim: Joel Grey stars in Kafka.

Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh . Ostensibly a biopic , based on the life of Franz Kafka , the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka 's fiction -LRB- most notably The Castle and The Trial -RRB- , creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere . It was written by Lem Dobbs , and stars Jeremy Irons in the title role , with Theresa Russell , Ian Holm , Jeroen Krabbé , Joel Grey , Armin Mueller-Stahl , and Alec Guinness .   Released after Soderbergh 's critically acclaimed debut Sex , Lies , and Videotape it was the first of what would be a series of low-budget box-office disappointments . It has since become a cult film , being compared to Terry Gilliam 's Brazil and David Cronenberg 's Naked Lunch -LRB- all of which star Ian Holm -RRB- .