METAMORPHOSIS
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Billings
Director: Ivo Dvorak Sweden (Swedish w/English subtitles); 1975; 85 minutes
Reviewed by: Thomas E. Billings; Department of Statistics University of California, Berkeley Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
This film is an adaptation of the story by Franz Kafka. The film centers on Gregor, a young man who goes to bed one night, only to discover the next morning that a "metamorphosis" has occurred, and he has turned into a giant cockroach! The term "giant" cockroach here refers to a cockroach that is roughly the size of a man!
The metamorphosis of Gregor into a cockroach occurs at the beginning of the film; the remainder of the story/film centers on how Gregor and his family cope with this unusual event. Through flashbacks we learn about Gregor's life before the "metamorphosis." We learn that Gregor was a timid salesman for a fabric company, a devoted son who supports his parents and sister. The thoughts of Gregor/the cockroach are told via narration.
The unique situation facing Gregor, as he begins his new life as a cockroach, coupled with his bittersweet memories of the past, provide ample opportunities for sarcastic humor and social comment. An example of this is a flashback in Gregor's memory to when he was in a group of salesmen being threatened of the dangers of embezzlement against the firm. The head clerk calmly says that embezzlement is the worst crime of all, "a crime against the firm ... worse than fornication ... worse than intercourse with cows ...." Later in the film, there is an incident when Gregor the cockroach gets out of his room while the furniture is being removed. His father throws an apple at him to get him back into the room. However it turns out that the apple cripples him! Because of this, he is no longer locked in his room - the door to his room is left open. This so pleases Gregor, who is hungry for human contact, that he delivers a poetic, poignant soliloquy in praise of the apple that is rotting in his back! [After all, no one dares remove the apple.]
The flashbacks in the film, and current scenes involving only Gregor's family are in full color. Most of the scenes involving only the cockroach are in what appears to be tinted black & white or color filtered to be nearly black and white. The cockroach and "cockroach effects" are OK, but not up to current standards of special effects. I would describe the effects as better than the "guy in a rubber suit" (a la Dr. Who or Japanese monster flicks) genre, but not as good as ALIEN or ROBOCOP.
There are many things to like in this film. The sarcastic social wit it expresses is very funny at times. It is a surrealistic story of alienation, rejection, and despair. If my memory is correct, it is a relatively accurate adaptation of the original story by Kafka [apologies if I'm wrong - it has been about 18 years since I read the story]. Finally, if my information is correct, it is the only film version available.
However, the story unfolds at a very slow pace. It is essentially a psychological story, with very little "action." The story is interesting, but far from "gripping." Accordingly, I recommend the film only to fans of the original story, and, of course, to anyone that loves cockroaches. Overall evaluation of the film: fair.
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