The Trial

The Welles interpretation is not as faithful to the novel but it is like his interpretations of Shakespeare, they take on a life of their own and stand apart from the source material. Welles' The Trial blended, humor, and absurdity with the mundane yet surrealistic bureaucracy and terror of the plot. Small little additions to his scenes make his movie more disturbing than the novel and I havent gotten to how striking the visuals are. This 1993 movie does not have any of that.

Kafka simply does not translate well into film. The closer to the novels, the less the movie feels to me. This movie has the unusual charcters, events and encounters faithfully represented and presented in the context of the time Kafka wrote the novel. It is well acted, well directed, well scripted. The cast is impeccable. No other word fits.

Perhaps the film being so faithful to the novel undermines it causing it to lack personality and character. It just stands out there representing the scenes in the book. In a way, it hurts the novel because I didn't remember Josef K spending so little time wondering what he was charged with.

A correct adaptation. Nothing more. It is a virtue, indeed, like the loyalty to novel , like good performances of Kyle MacLaland or Robert Lang or Jason Robards OR aLFRED mOLINA or, in last instance - I imagined an younger priest - Anthony Hopkins.

The sin - maybe a too mechanic adaptation, in which the fear to make mistakes offers a sort of rigidity , resulting pictures not always connected one by other and giving the feeling than it is only a sort of excelent homework for the readers of book.

But, correct. And this matters , in final.

But, sure, correct.

I am a major fan of any of Franz Kafka's literature. In fact I read everything ever written by Kafka who is the most unique writer in any language.

So I was very eager to see The Trial brought to the screen.

And I can tell you from this film fan's perspective, this movie was the real deal. Filmed in Kafka's home city of Prague, it shows the world that Kafka knew.

Exploring the life and spiraling downfall of Josef K., a young bank executive, it shows a nightmarish world in which a man is destroyed slowly and gradually.

It is a timeless story about being entrapped in a horrible bureaucracy in which there is no escape.

Josef K is visited by two roguish officers of the court and summoned to a bizarre court. The court comes to regular meetings and he is summoned throughout the story. He goes through the entire proceedings not knowing even what crimes he is being charge with.

The bizarre "court" is a cavernous building where families, children, adulterous spouses and bullying thugs inhabit. Everyone inside seems to have a function yet we never see the judges or those who are responsible for the fate of the story's protagonist.

In the meantime he continues to live is normal, dull life.

But the court continues to rule his life. And the harder he fights the court the more deeply entrenched he becomes.

Students of Kafka's literature will recognize the familiar themes: man against an inhumane bureaucracy, the eminant demise of man, the demise of freedom at the expense of rules and regulations, the literal use of metaphores and the ultimate doom of all humanity.

Its not your average story but for those who are seeking something different I would heartily recommend it.

When a novel is to be translated to the silver screen, the director will immediately face a dilemma. How will he approach the translation? Will he try to be as faithful to the original piece of work as possible, avoid to give his own interpretation of the novel, not risking the wrath of devoted readers?

Or will he try to see to what he believes to be the true spirit of the work, and express it in a new way? After all, books and films are different medias and thinking of how much is lost without the author's special language and distinct style - for an example -, shouldn't a director try to make up for that loss by adding something unique for film?

I would go for the latter. Otherwise your filmversion of an essential piece of literary work will be just that: a version of an essential book, not an essential film in itself.

Of course this can cause a lot of controversy, and there's no doubt that some directors have managed to completely ruin an excellent book when trying to make 'their own' version of it. BUT, look for an example at 'A Clockwork Orange'. Burgess intricate play with language and manipulation of the reader - slowly taking him into Alex's world and way of thinking - simply will not be translated into film. So instead Kubrick used the unique opportunities of film and managed to combine the use of audio and vision to stunning effects. Kubrick managed to make something own out of it, no question about it.

And that's what I feel is missing in 'The Trial'. Yes, it is a perfectly well-done job. I couldn't think of a more suitable actor for Josef K than Kyle 'Agent Dale Cooper' MacLachlan: that's EXACTLY the way I envisioned him when reading the novel! Also the settings in Prague provides the movie with beautiful and suitable backgrounds. Though some scenes, for lengths sake, has been cut short it also stays true to the events in the novel and manages to catch some of the atmosphere in the novel.

The movie is carried through very competent, the actors are talented and there's a a nice 'Godfather'-esque grainish color on top of it all. No, this isn't a bad movie. On the contrary!

But why shouldn't I rather read on the novel myself? Because what is really comes down to is this: if a translation from one media to another is to be successful, it can never be just a translation. It has to stand on it's own legs.

And that's where this film fails. We aren't offered any new perspectives or different ideas on Josef K and his torments. Quite simply, it's an enjoyable watch but probably holds appeal mostly to those who don't have the time or interest to read the novel instead.

6/10

Terrific version of this story - moves more smoothly and lacks some of the dream like Brectian look of Welles version. Still, McLaughlin is excellent as a confident, terrified and confused man who's life is inexplicably changed when he his charged in an unknown place, for an unknown crime. Hopkins and Robards as the Priest and legal counsel are in excellent form. Set during the time period when Kafka was alive to give the film a sense of place, I strongly recommend this version of the story for someone who wants a little more scenery and a sense that Josef lives somewhere instead of just in some strange version of a modern town.