"Die Verwandlung" or "Metamorphosis" is a West German German-language film from 1975 and the writer and director here is Czech filmmaker Jan Nemec. This film had its 40th anniversary last year and it runs for 52 minutes (only). The story Nemec adapted here is by Prague-born writer Franz Kafka and it was used on several occasions in film, also for example by Oscar nominee Caroline Leaf who made an animated short film based on it. it is the tale of a man who realizes one day that he has turned into a gigantic insect, thus the title. After initial fear from his family members, they manage to cope and deal with the new situation as well as they can. Except the female lead actress, the cast here are predominantly Germans (English and Austrian also occasionally) and this is also why it is a German-language film. Cast member Tamara Kafka is certainly related to Franz.
For my personal liking, the story was just too absurd and not even the inclusion of very established actors like Heinz Bennent can make up for this. The acting and the way the characters are written is frequently over the top and I just could not appreciate the outcome here. I believe this is really only worth checking out if you really love Kafka's base material. I am sure that if I read it, I also would not appreciate it. So yeah my final verdict for this one is thumbs-down and I am glad it was actually this short. I recommend you to watch something else instead or maybe check out Leaf's take on the story first and you will know if the subject is interesting enough for you to sit through it for over 50 minutes. For me, it is definitely a nay.
For my personal liking, the story was just too absurd and not even the inclusion of very established actors like Heinz Bennent can make up for this. The acting and the way the characters are written is frequently over the top and I just could not appreciate the outcome here. I believe this is really only worth checking out if you really love Kafka's base material. I am sure that if I read it, I also would not appreciate it. So yeah my final verdict for this one is thumbs-down and I am glad it was actually this short. I recommend you to watch something else instead or maybe check out Leaf's take on the story first and you will know if the subject is interesting enough for you to sit through it for over 50 minutes. For me, it is definitely a nay.