The Trial [1962] (4 Stars)

Amazon Friday #7

I'm becoming more and more certain that my Amazon Friday feature is worth while. When I checked my Amazon watch list this afternoon I was told that today is the last day that "The Trial" is available. I was just in time.

I read the novel "The Trial" when I was at school. I must have been about 16. In fact, I read all of Kafka's novels. A disadvantage of this is that I get them mixed up. They deal with similar topics, so I can remember things I read, but not which book they happened in.

"The Trial" is about a man called Joseph K. He's arrested and put on trial, but he's not told what the crime is. He's recommended a lawyer by his uncle, but the lawyer is sick with an unnamed illness and rarely gets out of bed. The lawyer's mistress attempts to seduce K, but he resists her. In fact, every young woman that K meets attempts to seduce him. He's told that women are attracted to condemned men, so their feelings for him are the proof that he will be found guilty.

The courtroom is full of men who cheer loudly when K proclaims his innocence. It makes no difference. He's still found guilty.

It's not just the courtroom that's large and anonymous. K's office is full of men and women who sit all day typing.

Orson Welles is best known for his film "Citizen Kane", which is often considered the best film ever made. Orson Welles himself didn't share this opinion. He claimed that "The Trial" was his best film.

It's a good film, but there are a few things about it that I don't like. The voiceover in the opening scene is annoying. I don't need anyone to tell me what the film is about. The explanation seems condescending. There's also a problem with Anthony Perkins' performance as K. In the opening scenes he's clumsy and inept. I'm certain that K wasn't like this in the novel. When he speaks in court he becomes eloquent in his own defence. After the court he becomes clumsy again. I don't like this inconsistency. I don't understand why Orson Welles made the film like this. He was a highly skilled director, so it must have been deliberate.

After watchingthe trial today I wish that the book could be filmed again. In the hands of the right director it could be one of the best films ever made.

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