pcdoctorhousecalls Review of The Castle

The Castle (1968)

Not for everyone, but a masterpiece who love art films

[10/10 · 1 January 2020]

I saw this on Canadian Public Television over 35 years ago and loved it. I found the musical score very haunting, and wanted to find a copy of this film for many years. I recently purchased it as a used VHS cassette from Amazon, the only one I have ever seen (with English voice over). It is by Palisades Entertainment #9103. You can just feel the total frustration of this land surveyor as he deals with the mindless bureaucracy of the mysterious "castle" that he is never able to enter. On top of that, we see the utter corruption of this narrow society in the village: the laziness, the narrow minds, the cruelty and inhospitable atmosphere. We see some recognition by the barmaid that he represents something far better than the men in the village. And in one telling scene, a school boy comes out of the classroom to tell the land surveyor that he wants to grow up to be like him, meaning a man willing to confront the insanity and cruelty in this society. Sadly, in the end, the exhausted land surveyor runs off in the fog of the winter snow towards the castle, and we are never sure if he will truly be appointed to the position he thought he was called to do.