Franz Kafka, Orson Welles, and Walter Benjamin represent three very different variations of the left-wing cultural pessimism that develops within the broader political and intellectual current of Kulturpessimismus in Central Europe. In his work The Trial, the pessimist Kafka brings to light the deadly power of "mechanisms" and the inability of individuals to resist, as they are victims of their own voluntarism. Orson Welles' eponymous film shares this interpretation, albeit expressed in a different language. Finally, Benjamin, who had read Kafka's works with unlimited attention, was deeply impressed by the "absence of hope" of the accused in The Trial. Does this left-wing cultural pessimism return to the forefront today, in the face of the ecological destruction that is approaching rapidly or the spectacular rise to power of far-right or fascist governments from one end of the planet to the other? However, should we balance the pessimism of speech with the optimism of will, as proposed by Antonio Gramsci (citing Romain Rolland)?