Only an imaginative genius like Orson Welles could bring Franz Kafka's intense and internal novel The Trial to the screen. It is the bizarre and often frustrating story of a clerk arrested for an unspecified crime. He is not imprisoned, so obsessively searches for the reason for his arrest, blocked at every turn by massive bureaucratic obstacles. Massive filing systems and seemingly acres of clerks and typists doing apparently meaningless jobs are part of this nightmare that sometimes seems so near to the real world. Directed by Welles in his own quirky style, this is a visually stunning, densely detailed film and the black and white photography is particularly effective. Anthony Perkins is Josef K, the clerk, while Welles plays a defence attorney Josef hopes will help him. Love it or loathe it, it's a quite exceptional film. Welles himself said: 'Say what you like, but The Trial is the best film I ever made'.


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