Filmed for Swedish television, AFTER THE REHEARSAL was advertised as Bergman's farewell to cinema (a claim also made upon the release of FANNY AND ALEXANDER in 1983). Partly autobiographical, it concerns an aging theater director, Josephson, who looks back on the pain and suffering he has
caused those around him, especially the actresses he has loved and left. After the rehearsal of his fifth production of August Strindberg's Dream Play, the director rests on a couch onstage. There he is visited by Olin, a young actress who has returned to the theater in search of a bracelet she
supposedly left behind. There is a mutual attraction between actress and director as they discuss their lives and the theater--Josephson revealing that he once had an affair with her mother. Then they imagine what their lives would be like if they were to have an affair.
Although AFTER THE REHEARSAL is blessed with three superb performances (especially Thulin, as a has-been actress who attacks the director for having abandoned her), it is trapped in its staginess, leaving one to wonder why Bergman decided to bring it to the screen (Bob Fosse's revelation on a
similar theme was certainly more colorful). Olin, Josephson, and cinematographer Nykvist would meet again a few years later in Philip Kaufman's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. leave a comment
