The Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka. Filmed in Europe, Welles stated immediately after completing the film: "The Trial is the best film I have ever made."

The film begins with Welles narrating Kafka's parable "Before the Law" to pinscreen scenes created by the artist Alexandre Alexeieff. Anthony Perkins stars as Josef K., a bureaucrat who is accused of a never-specified crime, and Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, and Elsa Martinelli play women who become involved in various ways in Josef's trial and life. Welles plays the Advocate, Josef's lawyer and the film's principal antagonist.

The Trial has grown in reputation over the years, and some critics, including Roger Ebert, have called it a masterpiece. It is often praised for its scenic design and cinematography, the latter of which includes disorienting camera angles and unconventional use of focus

The Plot:

When police officers arrive at his home to tell him that he's under "open arrest," unassuming bureaucrat Josef K. (Anthony Perkins) can't imagine what kind of crime he might have committed. He consults first his neighbor (Jeanne Moreau) about the incident, then the courts, then a pompous law advocate (Orson Welles), all to no avail. Ironically, Joseph is able to learn of his sentence - he is to be put to death - but the nature of the charge against him remains elusive.