The Rite

Made for television in the late 60s, The Rite is a very small film from Bergman. It’s not just small in visual scope, but also small in narrative focus, which seriously limits its appeal.

I actually didn’t really get the film at the end of the screening and did as I always do with these. I grabbed the book from the Criterion collection and read the essay on the film. I think the reason the movie’s point passed me by while watching it, assuming the essay was correct, was because the film is a...