The Rook (1994)

Review by All Movie Guide
The Rook is a singularly bizarre film, a Kafka-esque allegorical murder-mystery set in a strange revolutionary future which looks like a cross between a medieval village and an industrial warehouse district. Combining elements of The Prisoner and Twin Peaks with religion, philosophy, politics, and an air of quietly impending doom, the film benefits from a fascinatingly understated production design and an assured lead performance by Martin Donovan. Abbott, who begins the film as a confident, self-assured figure, is convinced that he can overcome the obstacles put in his way by Brice and others due to his faith and singularity of purpose. This very singularity blinds him to the greater significance of the events surrounding him. Moreover, his dogmatic rigidity proves to be his psychological and spiritual undoing. The ultimate meaning of the film is open to interpretation, but it certainly makes a powerful case for intellectual flexibility and sublimation of ego. Elegant and intelligent, The Rook is not a typical sci-fi bonbon for the Phantom Menace crowd. It's a difficult and deliberate film, and general audiences will likely be bored, baffled, and frustrated, which may account for the film being in limbo for five years before getting a theatrical release. Viewers who can pick out elements of Orwell and Kierkegaard, and have already figured out that the title refers to Kafka's The Castle -- which Abbott's story vaguely resembles -- should find it endlessly rewarding and fascinating. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide