The Trial (1962)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Trial (1962) – O. Welles

I used to own this on VHS tape but admittedly I couldn’t get into it (possibly due the degraded quality of the image). So what better time to try watching it again (digitally) then after re-reading the book by Kafka? This experiment reveals how closely Welles stuck to Kafka’s story – with only a few added episodes (one involving a computer) and some rearranging of the chapters in the book (plus a controversial ending which Welles denies was intended when interviewed years later by Bogdanovich in This is Orson Welles).  But the realisation of the text reveals some contrast with Kafka. For one, Anthony Perkins, for all his strengths, seems too young and hapless for the role of Joseph K even though Kafka writes that he is 30 years old (Perkins’ actual age); in the book K seems more arrogant, more established in his role at the bank, more wilful and disagreeable. It seemed to me, in the book, that K’s reactions might be due to his paranoia, free-floating guilt at being arrested on unknown charges, and the oppressiveness of the Law and attendant judges, advocates, investigators, and hangers on. But Perkins seems caught in a rapidly escalating situation, as the pacing of the film thrusts him from scene to scene, giving him little relief (whereas the book is broken up by long monologues and less dynamic passages). Although one might think that Kafka’s text might lend itself to drab bureaucratic greys and unforgivingly bleak settings, instead Welles, true to his nature, can’t help throwing in more ornate and visually interesting settings shot at oblique angles, with the film shot in high contrast black and white. As with some of Welles’ other features, The Trial is highly episodic, introducing a series of different characters played by high profile actors (Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider) in small parts. Welles himself plays K’s lawyer who may be feathering his own nest rather than helping K (though he argues that he does more for K than for his other clients, such as Block played by Welles favourite Akim Tamiroff). Despite his perpetual lack of funding, The Trial turned out to be one of Welles’ least compromised works, even if his choice of Kafka may not have been perfectly aligned with this usual themes.