History Film / TheTrial

* KangarooCourt: The court that tries Josef, which clearly isn't interested in anything he has to say.

* TheAntiNihilist: Josef becomes this in the end, realising that there's no true reason for his arrest or court he decides that he doesn't care in a way that is quite similar to Camus' idea of revolt):

* DiedInIgnorance: Both in the movie and novella. The first sentence immediately sets up that K. has been arrested, having no idea what crime he has committed or why he is on trial. In the beginning, he makes attempts to find out, as anyone would, but, [[AmbiguousSituation in Kafka's]] [[{{Absurdism}} style]], settles with the absurd reality of it and attempts to find a defence, despite not knowing what is being defended. [[spoiler:Overall, nothing is truly achieved and K. manages to lose his defence. The novel ends as absurdly as it began, with K. being taken away by two men in opera clothes and shot in the head. The last thought he has is his incredulity at being treated 'like a dog'. [[WorldOfSymbolism This is Kafka,]] [[DownerEnding after all.]]]]
* DownerEnding: Josef K. is chucked into a hole and blown up with a stick of dynamite.
** Of course, Josef gets in a DefiantToTheEnd FacingTheBulletsOneLiner that he didn't have in that Kafka book. Welles admitted that this was deliberate because he felt that it wouldn't be possible to have Kafka's story end the way it did in a [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust post-Holocaust]] era.

''The Trial'' was produced by Alexander Salkind who would later find success with ''Film/{{Superman}}''. Most of the film was shot in the real life train station Gare d'Orsay in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}, which fit the mood well.[[note]]The station was used during World War II [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust to deport Jews to the camps]][[/note]] Other sequences, especially the exteriors, were shot in Yugoslavia and Croatia. The film was shot by cinematographer Edmond Richard who also worked on ''Film/ChimesAtMidnight'' (he would later work with Creator/LuisBunuel), and the film is highly regarded for its black-and-white imagery. It was Welles's favorite of his own works and is commonly considered the best ever film adaptation of a Franz Kafka work.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Hastler's odd little speech in which he says accused men are "attractive" strongly hints at this. He also has a gorgeous woman for a mistress.

* BewilderingPunishment: Josef never does learn what he's being tried for.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Those three guys, in the case of the three men from Josef's office who informed on him, who show up at his apartment together, and are still standing together and watching him when Josef returns to work.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Those three guys, in the case of the three men from Josef's office who informed on him, who show up at his apartment together, and are still standing together and watching him when Josef returns to work.
* WordOfGay: Orson Welles stated that he hired Anthony Perkins became everyone in the industry knew he was gay, and wanted a gay man to play Josef K.

* WordOfGay: Orson Welles stated that he hired Anthony Perkins became everyone in the industry knew he was gay, and wanted a gay man to play Josef K.
* YourCheatingHeart: Hilda the cleaning lady at the law court is married to the guard, but is having an affair with another man, and tries to seduce Josef.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Hastler's odd little speech in which he says accused men are "attractive" strongly hints at this. Then again, he has a gorgeous woman for a mistress.

Josef K. (Anthony Perkins, two years removed from his StarMakingRole in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'') is a white-collar worker in some nameless, vaguely European location. He awakes one day to find two ominous police officers--or at least they might be police officers, though they never show ID--in his room. The men, without introducing themselves or explaining why they're present in Josef's apartment, immediately begin interrogating him. Eventually they reveal that he is under arrest, although they do not tell him on what charge. Nor do they take him to any police station, instead allowing him to roam about freely, until one evening they take him from the audience at an opera and drag him to a tribunal.

** Of course, [[spoiler:Josef gets in a DefiantToTheEnd FacingTheBulletsOneLiner that he didn't have in that Kafka book. Welles admitted that this was deliberate because he felt that it wouldn't be possible to have Kafka's story end the way it did in a [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust post-Holocaust]] era.]]

The hearing ends inconclusively, with Josef unable to even get the judges to explain what is the charge against him. Josef engages the services of Hastler, a law advocate (played by Welles), but Hastler doesn't seem too motivated to do anything on Josef's behalf. Josef's frustration continues to grow as he is unable to do anything to help himself or find out why he has been charged.

* SkeletonGovernment: The Court can be seen as this. It is a powerful institution perceived to be unreachable, but nothing is actually known about it. It could be a democracy and executing the legitimate will of the people. It's not even known if the highest levels of the Court are actually unreachable, because no one in the novel even tries.

* ThereIsNoHigherCourt: Subverted; there ''is'' a higher court, but it's impossible to reach.

''The Trial'' is a 1962 film written and directed by Creator/OrsonWelles. It is an adaptation of the novel by Creator/FranzKafka. It was produced by Alexander Salkind who would later find success with ''Film/{{Superman}}''. Most of the film was shot in the real life train station Gare d'Orsay in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} which fit the mood well, [[note]]The station was used during World War II [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust to deport Jews to the camps]][[/note]]. Other sequences, especially the exteriors, were shot in Yugoslavia and Croatia. The film was shot by cinematographer Edmond Richard who also worked on Film/ChimesAtMidnight (he would later work with Creator/LuisBunuel), and the film is highly regarded for its black-and-white imagery.

''The Trial'' was Welles's favorite of his own works and is commonly considered the best ever film adaptation of a Franz Kafka work.

''The Trial'' is a 1962 film written and directed by Creator/OrsonWelles. It is an adaptation of the novel by Creator/FranzKafka. It was produced by Alexander Salkind who would later find success with ''Film/{{Superman}}''.

''The Trial'' is a 1962 film written and directed by Creator/OrsonWelles. It is an adaptation of the novel by Creator/FranzKafka.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: The opening parallel of the man before the gate to the Law is presented as a series of "pin-screen" pictures in which pins are stuck through a screen and lit. Technically it isn't animation as there's no illusion of motion, with the sequence being a series of stills, but the effect is the same.

* KafkaKomedy: Yup. [[WordOfGod According to Welles,]] this is a literal example. He found it to be extremely funny, and considered it one of his best works. Certainly Josef K.'s ineffectual blundering, as he continually tries and fails to salvage his situation, can be seen as darkly comic.

* CreativeClosingCredits: Creative ''lack'' of closing credits. Instead, the film ends with a freeze frame, whereupon Welles's narration states that ''The Trial'' was an adaptation of a Kafka novel, then lists all the actors in order of appearance. Welles ends his narration by identifying himself as the actor who played the advocate, as well as the writer and director of the picture.
* DownerEnding: Josef K. is chucked into a hole and blown up with a stick of dynamite.