The problem that arises from a visual adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis is the lack of empathy that would result from not having a human face to identify with; the audience would immediately be emotionally detached from the transformed protagonist. Seeing the protagonist as an insect, with few human traits to hold on to would quickly become uninteresting as the audience would not be able to relate to a subhuman creature. Previous adaptations have attempted to get around this by giving Samsa a human head with an insect body or as seen in the stage version, he is a man with insect movements, but the existing adaptations detract from the sense of empathy with the character that is required from the reader to make the story work and Kafka's text is distorted. Moving away from a mechanical adaptation towards a thematic treatment of Kafka's text allows for a more successful presentation of the key themes in a visual narrative. A human face is necessary for the audience to engage with the protagonist and a step toward a mental metamorphosis, presenting a protagonist with an altered perception opens the work up to becoming a more successful visual narrative.
[Searching for the sure-fire flop]
Max Bialystock: "Gregor Samsa awoke one morning to discover that he had been transformed into a giant cockroach." Nah, it's too good.
The Producers (Dir. Mel Brooks, 1968)
An example of a successful thematic adaptation is Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, which deviated from the source material (Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep') in order to produce a successful visual narrative. Alejandro Jodorowsky's unrealised vision for his film adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune started with the director taking ownership over the source material and adding and subtracting concepts without any reverence or obligation to the source material commenting that, "I did not want top respect the novel. I wanted to recreate it. For me Dune did not belong to Herbert as Don Quixote did not belong to Cervantes... the work of art is created from the collective unconsciousness."1.
While the project was taken away from Jodorowsky after 2 years of pre-production and eventually realised and later disowned by David Lynch in his own adaptation, Jodorowsky was able to develop concepts from thousands of pre- production illustrations for his version of the film and find a new audience for the material using the medium of comic books. He continues to collaborate with artist Jean Giraud. Comic art is a valid medium for communicating a visual language and Jodorowsky found a receptive audience to his work in Europe.
"One of (David) Lynch's unproduced projects is an adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis."2. David Lynch has so far been reluctant to produce a film as a mechanical adaptation of the text, revealing in an interview with Chris Rodley, "I've got the script of that. It needs a little bit of work but I like it a lot. Unfortunately it's expensive and it won't make a lot of money." 3.
His existing films do frequently feature metamorphosis and can be seen as being Kafkaesque. Of these existing works, Lost Highway has been very influential on my own research in it's use of a subjective narrative and the use of an unreliable narrator. Lynch uses the aesthetics of film noir to present a visual narrative that can be understood by a modern audience literate in the visual language of film. Fred Madison, the protagonist of Lost Highway constructs a fantasy to escape from his prison cell, revealing that he likes to "remember things my own way". His metamorphosis in the film occurs in his prison cell when he transforms into another very different character, becoming younger, more confident and successful with women. The aesthetic of film noir is important as it complements the subject matter; the shadows that envelop Fred hint at his inner darkness and the femme fatale that he desires leads to his destruction as he loses his grip on the fantasy world that he has contstructed.
As part of my research project, my own exercise in creating a beat script and treatment of Kafka's Metamorphosis resulted in the need for an extensive reworking of the original text to make it work visually and the addition of new scenes that distorted the original story to the extent that it made me uncomfortable to produce a straight adaptation that could satisfy myself or an audience familiar with the work. My response to the text and failed attempts at writing a successful adaptation did inspire me to write an alternative, Kafkaesque and subjective narrative that is directed at a modern audience. I have written the first draft and I am developing the short story visually, experimenting with conceptual storyboards to make it work as a visual narrative. The treatment is inspired themes contained in Kafka's work and by a story that continues year after year in the newspapers which can find its audience in the presentation of real human horror in a way that can evoke empathy and create a successful visual narrative.
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1.
Cobb, B. (2007) Anarchy and Alchemy: the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Creation Books
2.
Sheen, E. and Davison A. (2004) The Cinema of David Lynch: American dreams, nightmare visions. Great Britain: Wallflower Press
3.
Ed. Rodley C. and Lynch D. (1997) Lynch on Lynch, England: Faber and Faber Limited
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