The Trial

This adaptation of Franz Kafka's dystopian novel The Trial follows Joseph K. (Anthony Perkins), an office worker who is arrested and taken to court without ever knowing the charges against him. He spirals through a bureaucratic and legal nightmare of guilt, corruption, and paranoia from which he cannot escape. A critique of totalitarian systems and the oppressive logic of the major Hollywood studios, the film's surreal narrative, combined with an expressionist aesthetic, led Orson Welles himself to consider The Trial the best film of his career.

Duration: 118’
Production year: 1962
Country: RFA, IT, FR, RFI
Language: EN Subtitles: PT

Venice Film Festival 1962 - Official Selection in Competition
Valladolid Film Festival 1963 - FIPRESCI Award for Best Film
Cannes Film Festival 2022 - Cannes Classics

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Orson Welles

One of the most versatile and influential artists of the 20th century, Orson Welles was a director, producer, actor, and screenwriter who worked in film, theater, and radio. At just 20 years old, he created The War of the Worlds, a radio play so convincing that many listeners believed an alien invasion was actually happening. Wells’ first feature, Citizen Kane (1941) is regarded as one of the most important films of the century, which for several decades has occupied the top spots on the prestigious Sight & Sound list of the greatest films of all times. The non-linear, layered narratives, expressionist lighting techniques, unique framing and angles, and depth of field are among the characteristics that make Welles the ultimate auteur. Welles' other notable works include The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), The Immortal Story (1968), and Don Quixote (1992). Though not always enthusiastically received upon release, these films are now regarded as masterpieces.