Inaka Isha

Making sense of Kafka`s work is difficult enough in its original form as prose, but trying to throw a theatrical spin on something as introspective as Country Doctor makes it even more confusing. The story starts with a distraught country doctor who`s horse has died the night before. His maid runs around town trying to borrow a horse so that the doctor might make his urgent appointment, but no one is willing. In frustration, the doctor kicks the door on his pigsty, and he finds a groom inside, and two horses as well. The groom prepares the horses but the doctor realizes he is after ... the maid, Rosa. Before the doctor can do anything, the groom sends the horses off, which basically teleports the doctor to the patient`s house, though it is supposed to be 10 miles away. This is but the beginning of the surreal ordeal that the doctor will endure.

In the written story, there is a progression of the surreal. It moves from being a rather normal predicament to something vaguely inexplicable, to complete nonsense draped in metaphors and symbolism. The animation though, is trippy from the start. Strange camera angles are used, and bodies are not only out of proportion, but in constantly shifting proportions. It`s not exactly how I would have imagined Country Doctor in my head, but it provides a buffer of sorts that makes some of the more surreal events and images more tolerable, less out of place, in the already surreal looking world. The animation also sticks very close to the text, making sure to visually capture all the little described details. In the longer bits of narration, it adds some unmentioned, original imagery.

In an attempt to create the same effect as the first person perspective of the story that enlightens readers on all of the doctor`s thoughts, two black, mini versions of the doctor are used to narrate. The coldness of this narration, along with a general inability of the characters to express emotions makes this film more confusing than the story, which is already painfully confusing. In the story, it explicitly states that the doctor kicks the door to his pigsty in frustration. In the animation, he just slowly walks up to the door and kicks for no apparent reason, almost as if looking inside was his intention. Similarly, lines of narration are rendered meaningless because the cynicism and bitterness of the doctor is replaced with a completely matter of fact tone.

The sounds and animation bring to the foreground a haunting atmosphere that is very subtle in the original story, and I appreciate this. A discordant clang of triangles is one piece of music the film used. Though it can hardly be called music, it is certainly creepy. Even when there`s no music, the howling winds, and the creaking of the house just gives a feeling of unease.

In the original story, with all the inexplicable insanity that occurs, the one grounding, sensible piece is the doctor himself; the piece that gives you hope of making sense of everything through the confounding events. As ambiguous as his character is in this film, even reading an interpretive analysis of the story will only provide a detached and unsatisfying understanding. It will be little more than animated gibberish without reading the short story first, but the eeriness that pervades the film does make it an interesting representation for those that have.

So, the story is pretty straightforward but also kind of confusing if you're just looking for a light watch and since it was a short film, I wasn't expecting the weirdness of it all. Weird is almost an understatement.

I didn't read the story prior to watching, but I did read it afterwards and I was still left feeling underwhelmed with the story.

The animation is what keeps you interested to watch it. The art is beautiful in its absurdness and I think the art is the only thing that gives this story life -- I also think that it further aids the weirdness of ... the story in general.

Overall, I think it was an interesting watch nonetheless. I do feel like I needed knowledge of the story beforehand to real appreciate the short film and how it really brought a sense of eeriness that isn't felt in the short story.

I think if you are looking for a quick watch then it's good, but if you're looking for some depth then I think you can look elsewhere.

“I really want to scratch your eyeballs out.” — Terminal child

Not satisfied with the limited selection of the in-town whores, the Doctor (who?) decided to turn toward pedophilia — and LSD — to quell his pent-up sexual frustration; unfortunately, Gandhi (the child) wasn’t having any of it. Not easily deterred, the Doctor (seriously, who?) rubbed his wrinkly shlong all over an unsuspecting horse, in what can only be described as a bizarre case of sexual assault.

Franz Kafka, an Austrian-Hungarian writer, wrote A Country Doctor in 1917, during a period where he suffered from stress, migraines, depression, insomnia — SOCIALIST INFLUENCES — and anxiety. ... This explains why the main character, the Doctor, exhibited a psychosis of sorts, and seemed unable to rationalize in any coherent manner. The 2007 reinterpretation of A Country Doctor (by Koji Yamamura), accentuated the Doctor’s psychosis by distorting the viewer’s perception of what is truly happening on the screen; hence, the stretching of characters beyond reasonable limits, the unwholesome aesthetic, and the peculiar symbolism. In essence, Koji Yamamura attempted to engage the viewer by having him/her share in the Doctor’s twisted experience.

This is all well and good, mind you, but it doesn’t change the fact that A Country Doctor is severely lacking from a narrative and character perspective. Yes, the Doctor’s delusions are beautifully portrayed through the “crude” artwork, but it’s not entirely understood why the Doctor suffers from these ailments (besides Kafka superimposing his own mental illness on Doctor). This lack of detail prevents the viewer from creating a meaningful connection with the Doctor — making his absurdities, seem exceptionally nonsensical.