Audience Member
"After the Rehearsal" is a strikingly original chamber piece that consistently impresses the viewer with its deftly poetic exploration of the blurred distinction between life and art. Bergman proves that even his minor work can embody a stunning level of creative ingenuity, in this case melding theater and reality in such original ways that even Fellini might feel envious. In typical Bergman fashion, we feel the dramatic nature of the material more than we understand it, never once leaving the confines of a stage that is sparing in terms of the mere three performers who inhabit it while simultaneously dense with the imagined cacophony of countless thespian phantoms of the past and future. Of particular note is the fascinating manner in which the lead character's point of reference spontaneously fractures, yielding first person narration which overlays his own spoken dialogue in the same moment. For either new Bergman initiates who want an aperitif before delving into his masterpieces or long time admirers seeking an appropriate point of departure, "After the Rehearsal" should suffice to satisfy the most ambitious of tastes.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Efter Repetitionen is a haunting film ridden with guilt, Bergman's guilt; of many lives, including his own, sacrificed for the sake of his art. It's a worthy low key conclusion to the main film making period of one of cinema's greats, a mea culpa of sorts.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
eric b
With "After the Rehearsal," Ingmar Bergman limits his tools to one minimal set and just three speaking parts. Erland Josephson stars as Bergman alter-ego Henrik, a veteran "difficult" director who's not shy about bullying actors to get what he wants. He's sitting onstage in an empty theater, lost in contemplation, when actress Anna (Lena Olin) enters. The two have an ambivalent relationship mixing attraction and resentment, and soon are drawn into a long discussion about their own bond as well as the general dynamic between a director and his cast. This obviously serves as a platform for Bergman venting many of his personal ideas and frustrations. But Henrik is also the ex-lover of Anna's late mother Rakel (Ingrid Thulin), a volatile actress who drank too much and erratically veered between arrogance and insecurity. As her foibles are debated, the film's middle detours into an extended flashback conversation between she and Henrik. To add a surreal touch, the set never changes and Anna reverts to a silent, pubescent girl. For the third section, Henrik and Anna wrap up their dialogue, climaxing in an electric exchange where they spontaneously imagine future events as if brainstorming a fresh play. "After the Rehearsal"'s stiff construction is bound to alienate many viewers but, with a 70-minute running time, it's not a rigorous test of one's patience. And Josephson and Thulin are magnificent, of course, just as they were in so many earlier Bergman projects.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A highly theatrical movie about acting, both on stage and in one's persona. But it's TOO theatrical: characters come to insightful revelations at the drop of a hat, and talk in a weighty, existentialist, abstract manner. Thulin's performance is a frustration: even though the viewer knows she's obviously supposed to be overly dramatic, it still irritates. It's all kinda boring, and I felt like I would have gotten more out of it if I was more interested in theater. But Josephson is terrific.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Not available on dvd or Netflix. Ordered VHS copy from ebay. powerful moviemaking. 74 minutes long. Though this film was originally made for Swedish tv it is no second rate production from Bergman. It is small, tightly constructed-- played in one set - the stage on which ''The Dream Play'' is being rehearsed - and has a cast of three. They are Henrik Vogler (Erland Josephson), the aging director now working on his fifth production of ''The Dream Play''; Anna Egerman (Lena Olin), Henrik's very young, pretty, ambitious leading lady, and Rakel (Inrid Thulin) an over-the-hill, once-great actress, now made unreliable through drink, who has accepted a humiliating two-line role from Henrik, a former lover.
Though ''After the Rehearsal,'' produced for television, runs only 72 minutes, it's as much a survey of the human frailties of those in the Arts and drama Departments as Strindberg's play, even if that condition is seen from Mr. Bergman's particular point of view which is always the despair and psychological study. His words are so powerful as the actors utter them that its as if they are talking in a dream world as we humans almost never talk such psycho- bable to each other (or do we?? Maybe in the 70's they did while on LSD or today in the self introspection & character defect stuff of the AA NA or other 12 step rooms). The babel is such a physiologically profound utterance that I am always in a spell when I watch Bergman films. The artist/director is here (Volger) napping in the theater is woken by Anna daughter of his long time friend (and his friends wife was also his mistress). She is now an actress like her mother and somewhat famous. There with her he reviews and recounts some of the personal happenings of his time in the theater-and himself and her mother. The theater is his life and he otherwise is a solitary old man. They discuss at length Ann's mother and she appears in a long dream at the end of the play. She is dead from alcoholism. This young Anna is wanting to become sexually involved with him and he is saying no. After his long years toiling in the theater but not acting all else in life is an illusion. This is a very heavy psychologically laden 70 minute conversation they have. I am just aware of no one in the history of film whom makes films like Ingmar Bergman. Most viewers should shy away from this as it would probably seem a dull bore and also not recommend for families. AFTER THE REHEARSAL, directed by Ingmar Bergman; written by Mr. Bergman; director of photography, Sven Nykvist; edited by Sylvia Ingemarsson; produced by Jorn Donner; produced by Cinematograph for Personafilm/ Munich; released by Triumph Films, a Columbia/Gaumont Company. Running time: 72 minutes. In Swedish with English subtitles. This film is rated R.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I'm stunned. What a great film! Full of deepness, thinking cinema. A great background plot, in a basic scenery, with just three actors, and just one place. I recommend this movie to any Bergman's fan.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
>
