Unit 10

As a full disclosure, I viewed Koji Yamamura’s version of A Country Doctor before reading Franz Kafka’s original version. In watching the animated version first, I was not prepared for how weird and dark the animation was going to become. It was interesting that Yamamura decided to begin the animation by referring a quote from Franz Kafka about a rope and its uses. It would give a better clarification on the mindset of the doctor as the story progressed in both the animation and the original story. In terms of the drastic difference between the Kafka’s original piece and Yamamura’s interpretation, the manner as to how Yamamura displayed the inner thoughts of the doctor by using two small characters and their interaction with the text was strange. It was difficult to tell whether both of these characters represented separate personalities of the doctor but there was a sense that when they both started to speak in unison, it appeared that the text that was spoken was directed towards the viewers. By comparing how these mini-characters spoke separately, it was obvious that the difference of voices represented his thoughts from himself through different perspectives. There were at times when one of the characters was not speaking directly from the text–it may have been a paraphrase from the interpretation from Yamamura or an added element from him.  

In terms of how the written version and the animated version were structured, it was consistent with each other with the exception of some thoughts not being said from the doctor but instead visualized. For Kafka’s original version, it was interesting how the story was not divided at all through paragraphs but instead broken up during the singing of the choir. As for the animation, it was obvious that Yamamura was bringing out the dark nature of the story and possibly the depression of the doctor through the lack of bright color and the playing of the violin. What the animation did to help the text show the possible pain the doctor might have gone through during the shorty story was the fog-type blur surrounding the animation. It was odd that Yamamura would add this to the animation because it could be interpreted as a heartbeat by the manner how the blur “pops-out” of the screen.

 In terms of the illness of the child in the text, it fulfilled a better job of emphasizing the loss the doctor is going through from losing Rosa in the beginning. In the text, the doctor described what happened to Rosa as if she had died and showed how much she meant for him. When showed in the animation however, it appeared that this emphasis was not often showed however, the amount of pain that the doctor was suffering because of losing her was more used with the discovery of the true source of the child’s pain. It was fascinating that Yamamura would use a flower (possibly a rose) to show where the cause of the pain of the child. This could possibly be Yamamura showing viewers the end result of Rosa escaping from the groom. This may have been Yamamura’s manner of showing how great the loss was from the doctor of not having her.

Even though the animation version provided an easier understanding of the complexity of the story in terms of the messages and metaphors, Kafka’s original text provided more information of the range of thoughts and emotions the doctor was going through. It better emphasized the relationship he had with Rosa as well as show how worn out he has become from being the village doctor. By reading and viewing the story, it provides a better opportunity to fully comprehend the purpose of the story and understand the possible message of reliance of science in a time when nothing else can be done.