Riten

Pros: 1. The aspect ratio of 1.33 : 1 and the usage of close-ups help add weight to the drama and tension, as it provides a more personal feel to the film. 2. There are no weak performances. Ingrid Thulin (Thea Winkelmann), Erik Hell (Judge Dr. Abrahamson), Gunnar Björnstrand (Hans Winkelmann) all deliver great performances. Anders Ek (Sebastian Fisher) in particular is phenomenal. 3. The dialogue is intense, well-written, and enthralling to listen to. 4. The rape scene is suitably uncomfortable and impactful to watch. 5. There is an appropriate insertion of an eerily disturbing and ominous score. 6. The last 12 minutes are captivating and serve as a satisfying end for Judge Dr. Abrahamson.

Cons: 1. The movie at times is a little too slow-paced, despite its relatively short run-time. 2. The editing and cutting is a little too abrupt at times.

I'm one of those: Ingmar Bergman is a true artist, a great filmmaker who's connection with the brightness and deepest darkness of human nature, of faults with religion, with close relationships, horrors of the mind, dreams, was so strong that it's hard to believe that he made so much and didn't succumb sooner to his most dogged troubles- death. In the case of the Rite, it's basically an experiment. He has ten scenes, four actors (not counting himself in an uproarious cameo appearance/in-joke on the Seventh Seal as a priest), and a lot of sado-masochistic psychology to work with. There aren't quite as many monologues as in Persona, and not the same depth of a relationship ala Scenes From a Marriage. But for the most part, the Rite works well as another exploration of Bergman's into the frayed mindset of actors, the discombobulated circumstances they get themselves into personally that mucks them up in the real world. Only the theater is their strange refuge, might be the message here, if there is one.

One thing's for certain, among the many performances that Bergman stock-company members Bjornstrand and Thullin have given in past films (Winter Light maybe their best pairing), the Rite provides them some of their best work. It might be almost too easy considering the material- a married couple that is completely miserable, full of the kind of bile that is found in the worst boils- and brought to a more succinct point by the actor Anders Ek (who has also been in a couple other Bergman flicks, notably Seventh Seal as the Monk), who might be the most exhaustedly p-o'd actor one's ever seen. They're all on trial for some Kafkaesque reason by a judge (Erik Hell) who is making their nerves totally on edge with his insistence on all the 'facts' coming in. The scenes particularly with him and Thulin are explosive, and even shocking to a point, where as before there's been subtlety and insinuation.

As it stands, approximately 9/10ths of The Rite is close to vintage Bergman as one could hope for, coming out of a period in the 60s where he plunged into a deconstructionist approach that found him working at full-steam (Persona, Shame, and Hour of the Wolf are some of the most daring 'art-house' films ever conceived and executed), and considering this as just an exercise is nothing to sneeze at...That being said, there is that final scene in the office I can't get out of my head, and unlike other times with Bergman I'm not sure it's such a good thing. It's a turning-the-tables scene where the actors come in costumes and masks ala Eyes Wide Shut and freak the f*** out of the judge, and Hell (no pun intended) goes into a rant about how wrong he was and how he sees that he's just a lawyer who didn't want to do this and that and so on. And it just doesn't feel the same as the rest of the material in the film, an 'off' quality, despite (or in spite) of the fact that on its own it's a truly outrageous thing to see: the costumes are sado-masochism incarnate, with a certain appendage that is ridiculous, and a bowl of wine that is obvious symbolically.

Maybe someday if I re-watch the Rite I'll come to admire or find something else about the scene that works better, but for now it's the only thing that is really a bugger about what is otherwise an exemplary work of cinematic theater. If you can find it somewhere in your local video store (emphasis on 'video', it's not available on DVD), and are already head-deep in the master of Scandinavian motion pictures, it's worth it.

While on tour in a European country, the actors Hans Winkelmann (Gunnar Björnstrand), his wife Thea Winkelmann (Ingrid Thulin) and his best friend Sebastian Fisher (Anders Ek) are charged of obscenities and sent to court. While interviewing the trio individually in his office, Judge Dr. Abrahamson (Erik Hell) challenges and discloses the feelings and troubles of the unstable personality of each one of them: Sebastian is an aggressive man with drinking problem and lover of Thea; Hans is a controlled wealthy man and leader of the company; and Thea is a fragile and vulnerable woman with mental disturbance. The judge pushes the emotions of the dysfunctional troupe to the edge and they propose a private exhibition of their play The Rite for his evaluation where the judge finds more than eroticism and obscenities.

I am a great fan of Ingmar Bergman, my director number one ever, I have already seen most of his movies, but "Riten" is not among my favorite ones. The claustrophobic and theatrical drama with actors playing actors is extremely well acted but is too experimental and Kafkaesque for my taste. Of course I recommend to any cinema lover to watch this film (I have seen it twice); but be prepared to see a very hermetic story without explanation for the final impressive sequence, open to the most different interpretations. I believe the greatest problem with me is that I have watched "Riten" out of the chronology of Bergman's filmography, since the DVD has been released only a couple of months ago in Brazil. In the future, I have the intention to see the movies of Bergman again in chronological sequence to try to follow and understand a little bit more his brilliant mind. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Rito" ("The Rite")

This is a somewhat odd and enigmatic film from Bergman; perhaps in keeping with many of the other films that he produced during the mid-to-late 1960's, and one that seems to be an extension of the artistic and psychological themes established in his more widely-acknowledged masterpiece, Persona (1966). Like that particular film, The Rite (1969) is a carefully structured drama built around a small cast of characters warring with one another in a close and claustrophobic environment that stresses the theatrical nature of the script. By refusing to extend on the material as many other filmmakers would when adapting one of their own works from stage to screen, Bergman creates a much tighter situation that gives the drama a stark, nightmarish quality that removes us completely from reality. Here, we are isolated with these characters, with all notion of the outside world or life beyond those drab, grey, minimalist locations having been removed completely, creating a void that overwhelms us.

The film also extends on some of the director's more recognisable themes, such as performance and persecution, with the idea of actors playing actors creating a performance that is not simply a part of the film, but also a comment upon it. It's perhaps a little clumsy in some places, especially compared to the aforementioned Persona, or indeed, similarly themed films like Hour of the Wolf (1966) and A Passion (1968); with the deeply enigmatic nature and theatrical presentation working towards an incredibly cold and uncomfortable atmosphere that never quite explains itself. I suppose this is a result of the short-running time and the fact that it was produced quickly and cheaply for Swedish television. However, it is still an incredibly bold piece of work, and one that definitely needs to be experienced by those with a real taste and admiration for the filmmaker; with the typically "Bergmanesque" themes and the strong performances and intense and troubling characterisations created by the cast making this a much more interesting and rewarding film than the brief plot outline might suggest.

The structure of the film is intended to somewhat distance us from the drama in a way that many of Bergman's better films would. Here, he uses chapter headings to disrupt the narrative; bringing to our attention the theatrical nature of the presentation and the artificiality of the world to, in effect, remove us from it. It works on a similar level to the self-reflexive interview sequences that punctuate the narrative of the previous A Passion, albeit, on a much more subtle level. Again, it is intended to add a further dimension to the film, but also to make the viewing process even more difficult. It also denies us a central character, with both the central government figure and the three performers all moving from hateful to sympathetic from one scene to the next. There are also at least two scenes that seem to be even further disconnected from reality. One such scene involves the youngest of the performers setting fire to his hotel room, lying back on his bed with his sunglasses on and staring up at the ceiling with a cool detachment as the room is engulfed by flames. It is never referred to or explained whether this scene actually takes place or if it is merely symbolic; though I suppose it could be read on an analytical level in regards to that particular character and his somewhat damaged and detached personality.

The second scene I won't go into, as it's one of the most important moments in the film. However, it is interesting how it sets up the atmosphere for that troubling and enigmatic finale, which again, is never fully explained and seems to sway the film away from the performers and more towards the self-appointed judge. There's a definite Kafka-like influence developed here, not only with the characters but with the situation that they find themselves in. So, we have a small group of characters put on trial for what we later learn are "obscenity charges", but the actual scenes between the judge and the performers seems to be much more cryptic and personal. If you're fond of the mind games and psychological role-playing developed in Persona then you should get a real thrill out of the five interview scenes that form the backbone of the film in question, with each character playing up to their own emotional strengths and weaknesses whilst finding themselves in this hopeless and incomprehensible situation.

Given the nature of the film I won't discuss the ending too much, though suffice to say it changes the way we look at those preceding scenes and seems to open up the narrative to further ideas of self-reflexive interpretation. So, we have the idea of a film within a film, or perhaps something more literal. Or is it a metaphor for the struggle of creativity in the face of government oppression. Indeed, at the time this film was made, Bergman was fighting his own battles against both theatre and cinema and how they were being developed back in Sweden at this particular time. It seems like he had lost faith in his audience and those who were paying for his work to be developed and these fears and anxieties are presented in the film alongside a rage of fury and aggression. For certain, this is a dark, troubling and enigmatic psychological piece that rewards patient viewers with a thought-provoking, Kafkaesque moral dilemma with room for personal interpretation.

Rite, The (1969)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A judge (Erik Hell) asks three actors (Gunnar Bjornstrand, Anders Ek, Ingrid Thulin) to enter his chamber for individual questioning so he can determine whether their performance is obscene or not. While the play their acting in is the main reason for questioning, the three actors as well as the judge have other issues to deal with as well. This was the first film Ingmar Bergman made for television and I really wasn't expecting too much and was honestly shocked at how well the film worked considering there's no real story to deal with. The dialogue is wonderfully written and Bergman's bleak direction builds a nice little atmosphere. The rest of it is up to the four actors who all deliver very good performances. Bergman even appears in one scene playing a Priest. It's also rather funny to see what could be shown on Swedish television back in 1969. There's no way in hell this thing could play in America today let alone way back then.