改编自卡夫卡未完成的长篇小说《美国》，但其关注的并非真实的美国，更像是没有详细年代的关于美国的寓言。卡尔•罗斯曼由于丑闻而接受其舅舅的邀请搬去美国，然而他无法摆脱欧洲大陆旧式习惯，更糟的是，欧洲的阶级结构无法让他通过自己的双手谋生。这一电影版关注资本主义社会创造的残酷而变幻莫测的阶级关系。同时忠于原著而未添加影片的结局。施特劳布夫妇风格的一贯操作与卡夫卡氛围的完美结合：中景固定机位，面无表情的演员，人物肢体和语言刻意僵硬，强调侧面特写，镜头推进及平移刻意突兀。由此我们可以寻求到改编卡夫卡作品的带实验性的可能。

This is a fascinating documentary on the making of Klassenverhältnisse (Class Relations). Farocki is both an actor and a director of this documentary. The film focuses on the rehearsal of two scenes (the "missing photo in the bag" scene and the "I'm completely drunk and I'm going to ruin your life" scene) and the shooting of the first rehearsed scene.
Like Pedro Costa's beautiful film on Straub & Huillet, Farocki's take focuses on the meticulous, obsessive work of the authors while at the same time incorporating a cinematic pace akin to their films'.
Here we see not the final step (editing) but the very early phases of the construction of the film. While working with the actors, while making them repeat the same scene over and over, Straub & Huillet are actually beginning to envision the mise-en-scène. We thus have the rare opportunity to see two master film-makers as they start to make actual progress in the artistic concretization of the work.
It may help if you have seen Klassenverhältnisse before, but it's really not necessary in order to follow this fascinating film.