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The Trial

The Trial

Crime · Drama · Mystery · 1962

Arrested for an unnamed crime, Josef K. is trapped in a surreal bureaucratic maze where justice is unknowable and guilt is assumed.

Movie details

The Trial

“The Most Remarkable Motion Picture Ever Made!”

1962 Crime · Drama · Mystery 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

Arrested for an unnamed crime, Josef K. is trapped in a surreal bureaucratic maze where justice is unknowable and guilt is assumed.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Trial?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Anatomy of a Murder

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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

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Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch

Crime · 1991

Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee and his dead-eyed wife, Joan, like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway, Bill gets a drug made from a centipede. Upon indulging, he accidentally kills Joan, takes orders from his typewriter-turned-cockroach, ends up in a constantly mutating Mediterranean city and learns that his hip friends have published his work -- which he doesn't remember writing.

The Unforgivable

The Unforgivable

Drama · 2021

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

Disgrace

Disgrace

Crime · 2008

Disgrace is the story of a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his good looks, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his cherished daughter. After having an affair with a student, he moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.

Under the Silver Lake

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Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.

King Ivory

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Rope

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Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

Sleepers

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Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Orson Welles

Written by

Orson Welles

Anthony Perkins

Anthony Perkins

Josef K.

Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider

Leni

Orson Welles

Orson Welles

Albert Hastler

Akim Tamiroff

Akim Tamiroff

Bloch

Jeanne Moreau

Jeanne Moreau

Marika Burstner

Elsa Martinelli

Elsa Martinelli

Hilda

Suzanne Flon

Suzanne Flon

Miss Pittl

Court is in session

Put The Trial on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.