The one adaptation that I see most specifically is the choice of locations. While reading Kafka's version, I always interpreted K. as more strong minded/strong willed. I came to this interpretation from how K. speaks, thinks, and acts. However in Welles' version, K. is the exact opposite. He appears to be lost and very powerless. Welles does a great job with choosing the locations to make K. as small as possible. Camera placement and deep focus truly emphasize this feeling Welles is attempting to get across to the viewer. One of my favorite shots is the wide angle, long take in which K. tries to Frau Grubach's friend with the trunk. Both the size of the space and buildings, along with the camera placement, make K. seem so minuscule to both the world and his situation. The other notable scenes are the office in which he works, the court room, and the locations used when K. talks with his cousin.
As for the themes Welles employs in his film, I had to first look at the themes of The Trail itself. A Michael J. Cummings posted on his website that one of the themes revolves around the fact that "a man has no alternative but to accept his own destiny" (Cummings). I believe that Welles does a great job at revolving his film around this theme. All he does, in my opinion, is change the mind state of the character K..
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/TheTrial.html#Themes
While different in many ways, I find some of the use of locations in 'The Trial' very similar to 'Touch of Evil' - with its empty streets in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteCan anybody else think of direct moments from 'The Trial' that also feel similar to other Welles locations?
Like discussed a little in class, any confined space such as the motel room in 'Touch of Evil' feels similar to the location used for the whipper. It makes the audience feel claustrophobic and adds a sense of confusion.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of 'The Trial' features a shot of a doorway which has a fishbowl quality, this somewhat mirrors the beginning of 'Citizen Kane' when Kane drops the snow globe on the floor. Both shots feature a doorway and give an establishing shot of where the main characters are located.
I definitely agree. The location of "The Trial" seemed very concrete to me. Literally. It was all very stark colored and there was no lush backgrounds or warm scenes. It all seemed very cold. When that was placed against K's character, to combination was very unique. K's character in Welle's eyes was much more awkward, uncomfortable, and seemed very weak and indecisive. Placing him in such a bleak location played along with that.
ReplyDeleteI thought of Kane's expansive estate when I was watching The Trial. This was especially evident when K. is helping the new landlord of Miss Burstner. The scene is set on such a grand scale and the characters look very minuscule compared to the buildings around them. In the beginning of Citizen Kane, as the camera pans up, it shows the largeness of the brick walls and fences of the exterior of the land. When the frame fades in and starts roaming around the lot itself, everything around is set on a grand scale. The home itself is enormous. When Kane is standing in front of the fireplace, it looks like it will swallow him whole. In both of these movies, the sets seem to consume the characters in size and grandeur.
ReplyDeleteThe confined spaces in Citizen Kane following Kane's fall from political grace are worth mentioning as well. The walls plastered with phrases praising Kane and his magnificent play of the political machine, instead become a way to mock his hubris and ego. This confined space also enhances the established tensions between Kane and Leland when the latter wishes to embark on a writing career in Chicago, much to Kane's chagrin. This is one of many confined locations in Citizen Kane that play with the idea of rooms becoming characters all their own.
ReplyDelete