PROCES
F. KAFKA - PROCES
For a short film inspired by Franz Kafka's The Trial, I looked for a musical idea that wouldn't merely accompany the story, but grow directly out of it.
I found it in the labyrinth.
The novel carries the labyrinth as a recurring motif, so I composed a repeating ostinato that embodies it in its very structure: two voices intertwining, circling, never quite escaping each other. The ostinato never closes on itself. It ends a step away from where it began, so each repetition moves without ever arriving. Just like Josef K.'s journey.
Only later does the main theme emerge, played on the harpsichord. The film was shot in black and white in the old streets of Prague, and the instrument's antique, almost mechanical timbre felt like the natural voice of that world. It matched the monochrome imagery and the eerie, timeless atmosphere of Kafka's universe alike.
This is what I mean by musical dramaturgy. I don't want music to accompany a scene — I want it to become part of its meaning, revealing something the words and the images alone cannot.
Directed and edited by Luboš Rezler. Starring Karel Dobrý. DOP Adam Mach. Produced by Perfilm CZ and Moloko Film. 2026
I found it in the labyrinth.
The novel carries the labyrinth as a recurring motif, so I composed a repeating ostinato that embodies it in its very structure: two voices intertwining, circling, never quite escaping each other. The ostinato never closes on itself. It ends a step away from where it began, so each repetition moves without ever arriving. Just like Josef K.'s journey.
Only later does the main theme emerge, played on the harpsichord. The film was shot in black and white in the old streets of Prague, and the instrument's antique, almost mechanical timbre felt like the natural voice of that world. It matched the monochrome imagery and the eerie, timeless atmosphere of Kafka's universe alike.
This is what I mean by musical dramaturgy. I don't want music to accompany a scene — I want it to become part of its meaning, revealing something the words and the images alone cannot.
Directed and edited by Luboš Rezler. Starring Karel Dobrý. DOP Adam Mach. Produced by Perfilm CZ and Moloko Film. 2026