The Rite (1969) review

A theatrical troupe consisting of Thea (Ingrid Thulin), Hans (Gunnar Björnstrand) and Sebastian (Anders Ek) are brought in front of the strange Judge Abrahamson (Erik Hell) and accused of not only evading taxation (which Bergman himself ran into personal problems with in 1976) but staging an "obscene show."  Despite being one of the director's relatively minor works, it still has a good deal of mystery surrounding it: there's a love triangle taking place between the performers, and everyone seems to being undergoing a personal crisis - even the Judge goes to Confession with the priest being none other than the auteur himself.  Interpretations may vary, but the most simple one is that the interrogator is the stand-in for the "critic" and the ending is symbolic retribution by the artists for their work being misinterpreted.