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After the Rehearsal Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Bergman is back on FilmRoot to play with your mind. What initially seems like an ordinary conversation between two characters becomes something that you start doubting. See if you can gauge whether the characters are acting or just having a regular conversation. Top marks to anyone that can decipher it!

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Why Watch After the Rehearsal?

For more Ingmar Bergman! We’ve already looked at Persona and Cries and Whispers so here’s more from the Swedish maestro!
If you love the theatre – this one has plenty of Strindberg references and even looks like a play
You love character focused dramas
It’s another film that messes with you (like in Persona and Mulholland Drive)

The Breakdown

After the Rehearsal starts with a shot of the floor which works its way across a carpet, up to a desk to show a man’s head lying on the desk. He is lingering on the stage set after the rehearsal to reflect. His narrative voice kicks in with an inner monologue reminiscent of Bergman’s opening to Wild Strawberries.

The man’s inner monologue is interrupted by an actress returning to the set to collect something she left behind. The man wants to carry on thinking, and whilst he politely greets the actress with his voice, his inner voice shouts at her to go away.

Unfortunately for him (and for the sake of entertainment) the young actress does not go away and they start talking. They talk about life and the future and other things. However, the manner they both show emotions and talk to each other becomes more and more unclear to us. Are the acting? Is the actress a figment of the man’s imagination? Or are they just chatting?

Conclusion

Bergman always likes to play with his audience (most notably in Persona) and he does it again here. In this film, he blurs the lines between life and acting. He even hints that the actress could just be a figment of the man’s imagination. What a trickster! This one is another classic Bergman to play with your head!

I recommend checking out the ‘Breaking Down Bergman’ YouTube channel after you’ve seen this film to find out more. Link here.

A Caribbean Dream Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you’re looking for a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the tropics you’ve come to the right place. Shakirah Bourne’s A Caribbean Dream captures the magic of the original with mischievous fairies and pantomime humor and adds its own touch with the lush setting and Bajan music. The acting and editing is B-movie level, but if you’re not expecting anything exceptional, you’ll have a good time in its short run time.

From: Barbados, North America
Watch: Trailer, Hoopla, IMDb
Next: Romeo + Juliet, 10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless

A Caribbean Dream – The Breakdown

A Caribbean Dream reminded me a bit of an English pantomine. The acting isn’t high quality, neither are the makeup or effects. However, this is fine if you go into the film expecting B-movie quality. Like when you watch a B-movie action or horror – you expect cheesiness so you can laugh with it – do the same for this one, after all, this is how Shakespearean plays were performed in Elizabethan times.

A Caribbean Dream borrows a lot from its source material. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream you’ll recognize most of the lines in this film. It uses the original ‘older’ English verse more than contemporary Bajan language. You’ll also recognize all of the main characters from the original as they’ve all been copied into this adaptation along with the silly comedy.

Despite the old verse, the film does bring the 16th Century text up to the present. Situating it in Barbados’ tropical setting works well as the lush green rainforests match the fairy magic. It’s also nice to hear Bajan carnival music to break up the long pieces of Shakespearian dialogue.

Overall, the adaptation works fairly well. The problems with the script stem mostly from the film’s faith to the original. It doesn’t work especially well with the short run time, which makes it feel like you’re watching the play on fast-forward, or the many characters, as there’s not much time for creative development. So, if you’re unfamiliar with the original text you might get a bit lost with all the different people and fairies. The faith to the original text also feels unnatural in the modern context, especially as some scenes feature regular Bajan conversation. It would have been nice to see more of a break with the original text to make the film more distinct. It feels like the director was afraid of doing the Shakespeare a disservice and held back from making something truly unique.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for more Shakespearian film adaptations you’ve got plenty of choice. Romeo + Juliet and 10 Things I Hate About You are two that are contemporary to when they were filmed (like A Caribbean Dream). You also have a bunch of Midsummer Night Dream adaptations to check out. Or you could try Clueless, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

After the Rehearsal (Sweden) – Bergman vs. Your Mind