''After the Rehearsal'' () is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, written and directed by

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

in 1984. The script contains numerous quotes from

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

's '' A Dream Play''. The film was screened out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot summary

Rational, exacting, and self-controlled theater director, Henrik Vogler, often stays after rehearsal to think and plan. On this day, Anna comes back, ostensibly looking for a bracelet. She is the lead in his new production of Strindberg's '' A Dream Play''. She talks of her hatred for her mother (now dead), an alcoholic actress who was Vogler's star and lover. Vogler falls into a reverie, remembering a day Anna's mother, Rakel, late in life, came after rehearsal to beg him to come to her apartment. He awakes and Anna reveals the reason she has returned: she jolts him into an emotional response, rare for him, and the feelings of a young woman and an older man play out.

Cast

* Erland Josephson – Henrik Vogler (older) *

Ingrid Thulin Ingrid Lilian Thulin (; 27 January 1926 – 7 January 2004) was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and in ...

– Rakel Egerman * Lena Olin – Anna Egerman (older) *Nadja Palmstjerna-Weiss – Anna Egerman (younger) *Bertil Guve – Henrik Vogler (younger) ''(Tartan DVD release of this film erroneously lists "Liv Ullmann" as one of the three main stars. Ullmann is not in this film)''

Reception

''After the Rehearsal'' received strongly positive reviews from critics, garnering a 91% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

wrote that it "may well be another Bergman classic."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave it a full four stars and argued that the work "consists of unadorned surfaces concealing fathomless depths." The film ranked 4th on Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Films of the Year List in 1985.

References

External links

* *
"After the Rehearsal": an interpretation
at th
Cinemaven blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:After The Rehearsal 1984 films 1984 television films Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman 1980s Swedish-language films 1984 drama films Films shot in Sweden Swedish drama films 1980s Swedish films