Die Verwandlung (1975)

An adaptation of Franz Kafka's classic story about Gregor Samsa, a man who awakes and sees himself suddenly turned into a repulsive insect that causes problems to his (at one time) beloved ... See full summary »

Director:

Jan Nemec

Writers:

Franz Kafka (novel), Jan Nemec

Stars:

Heinz Bennent, Zdenka Procházková, Edwige Pierre

Cast

Cast overview:
Heinz Bennent	...	Der Vater
Zdenka Procházková	...	Die Mutter
Edwige Pierre	...	Die Tochter Grete
Achim Strietzel	...	Der Prokurist
Tamara Kafka	...	Die Putzfrau
Gunnar Holm-Petersen	...	'Gregor'
Karl Renar	...	Zimmerherr
Alfred Baarovy	...	Ein Zimmerherr
Herbert Klein	...	Ein Zimmerherr
Dieter Kettenbach	...	Narrator

Storyline

An adaptation of Franz Kafka's classic story about Gregor Samsa, a man who awakes and sees himself suddenly turned into a repulsive insect that causes problems to his (at one time) beloved family, who find ways of getting rid off of him. The innovation from this film version is to tell the story from Gregor's perspective, and audiences are unable to see his current appearance.

---

Plot Keywords:

unseen protagonist | unseen character | character's point of view camera shot | family relationships | dark comedy | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

---

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Metamorphosis (1976)

User Reviews

A good cinematic experience that does not betray Kafka

Gregor Samsa's worst nightmare of all is transformed into a fairly faithful film adaptation on the hands of Jan Nemec in this good TV movie. Kafka's notorious "The Metamorphosis" is known by everybody, readers and non readers so I won't even bother detailing the story, cause the movie follow such quite rigidly, with some minor alternatives - or at least I think there were some changes, specially towards the conclusion, partly because I've read the book a long time ago and I don't remember the follow-up after Samsa's fate.

What I loved about "Die Verwandlung": Gregor Samsa is never seen. Ever. Neither as human, neither as an insect - we have to imagine how he looks like; however, the story is viewed through his optic, brilliantly captured by a cinematography filming in unusual angles or with the members of Samsa family breaking the fourth wall as if we in the audience were transformed into Gregor-turned into insect. Samsa's challenge is thrown back at us. And the humor! Yes, Kafka's humor, commonly referenced by many specialists as one of his strongest points, even though his stories were eternally depressing, chaotic, nightmarish and kafkaesque so to say, but there's always hints of humor in it (for those with eyes and minds to see...); anyway, that humor is very evident. It's all desperation to the main character but there's room for laughter when the new tenants pop in the Samsa's family residence. Mannerisms, situations and a lot awkwardness is presented, all collected in slightly delightful sequences that makes us see the fun in such an absurd scenario.

So, if you're lazy in terms of reading, this can be a little helpful in understanding what the classic is all about BUT it's no replacement for the wonderful book since it can't fully represent the countless deep interpretations on what the metamorphosis actually symbolizes (there's many valid theories, mine reflects on political/sexual issues). Well acted and very short, a harmless adaptation, my favorite so far. 7/10

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 October 1975 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Metamorphosis

Filming Locations:

FSM, Unterföhring, Bavaria, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1