The Trial (1993)
Joseph K. awakes one morning, to find two strange men in his room, telling him he has been arrested. Joseph is not told what he is charged with, and despite being "arrested," is allowed to remain free and go to work. But despite the strange nature of his arrest, Joseph soon learns that his trial, however odd, is very real, and tries desperately to spare himself from the court's judgement.
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Too much of everything
Charming and brutal
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Like multiple critic reviews of this film, I had a very hard time feeling anything for Joseph K. Mostly, in my opinion, because I felt like even he was in on parts of the plot that I wasn't privy to. The story was always bouncing from one character to the next and the dialogue was so abstract that I had a very hard time even understanding what was going on up even to the ending.One thing that i was struck by, was the atmosphere. The film was surreal without being too over-the-top. I felt like I was watching a horrible dream unfold where no one was sure whether or not what was happening was actually real.Bottom line, I'd recommend this film to people who aren't into the Hollywood blockbusters, but rather like watching a film for the underlying themes. There is simply so little in this film that holds your attention (besides random sensual scenes), that most people including myself really won't find the film worth watching.One last thing, don't get too excited about Anthony Hopkins in this film. He has a great performance for about 10 minutes near the end of the movie and that's it.
A man awakens to be told that he has been arrested, however he is not told why he has been arrested and he is aloud to do everyday things like go to the bank even though he is due to stand in court. He must find out why he stood trial and how he can escape his sentence.This film starred: Kyle Maclachlan, Anthony Hopkins & Alfred Molina.The Trial is a boring, slow and very dull movie, I was intrigued by this movie because of it's tagline and the fact that Anthony Hopkins was in it. You can understand my disappointment when I found out that he was only in the film for 10 minutes. However I found out that Trigger from Only Fools and Horses was in, however he was only in it for a couple of minutes. Not recommended, very slow paced and very boring.*/***** Very poor.
Pinter's Kafka; 'The Trial'. Brilliant film, I think. Lovely, knowing Prague, to see it as the backdrop. Why bother with derivative stuff like 'Waiting for Godot', a pathetic attempt to infuse the tragedy with facile humour. Hopkins is perfectly cast, as is the castle at Prague. Kafka sees the world, the world of power and corruption so clearly, but fails to see the redemption Epicurus and Ecclesiastes did.Perfect atmosphere, cinematography and acting. The film is a delight.To short to be properly Kafkaesque, but who would watch it if it were long enough? It avoids the problems of too literary a take that the film of Finnegan's Wake makes.We want to shout, almost all the way through, not; 'Look behind you!', but 'What's the Charge?'This is not a film for the young. It lacks the obvious ennui that a teenager would seek, and find, from the book. It, rather, I think, shows an adult understanding of our helplessness.We can love the void, or hate it, but we can't deny that it is there. If we can, unlike the Kafka's anti-hero, refuse to take it all at face value, or, more importantly, at the apparently deep, skull-level value the bureaucrats would wish us to believe are real, then we can live.I see Kafka as, despite himself, deeply life-affirming. The Castle, Trail, or Plague we see is only an illusion. As the gatekeeper says, the door is open and is only there, specially, for us, or for us to ignore.I'm delighted to have ignored the doors, the gatekeepers and the controllers that would have had me imprisoned in my own mind. It's good and healthy to see them here for what substantial obstacles the can be if you don't ignore them.
Filmed in Prague, this film has some of the best Old World urban scenery ever put on film. "Amadeus" came to mind.The screenplay follows Kafka's novel well in text and feel. Well enough, if fact, that reading the novel will offer little more than this film's relating of the story of Joseph K. and his trial. And that is the best that a film version of a novel can possibly hope for.