The Trial (1993)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

David Hugh Jones

Writers:

Franz Kafka (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Joseph K. awakes one morning, to find two strange men in his room, telling him he has been arrested...

Plot Keywords:

Arrest | Confusion | Tense | Bureaucrat | Kafka Esque

Cast

Kyle MacLachlan	...	Josef K.
Anthony Hopkins	...	The Priest
Jason Robards	...	Doctor Huld
Juliet Stevenson	...	Fräulein Burstner
Polly Walker	...	Leni
Alfred Molina	...	Titorelli
David Thewlis	...	Franz
Michael Kitchen	...	Block
Tony Haygarth	...	Willem
Douglas Hodge	...	Inspector
Jirí Schwarz	...	Babensteiner
David Schneider	...	Kullich
Ondrej Vetchý	...	Kaminer
Valérie Kaplanová	...	Old Woman
Jirí Ded	...	Old Man

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Version of Prosessen (1962) (TV)

Faithful to the novel

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.