Sven Nykvist
Guided by Liv Ullmann and with commentaries from a number of prominent filmmakers for whom Bergman is and remains an important influence - such as Woody Allen, Olivier Assayas, Bernardo Bertolucci, Arnaud Desplechin, John Sayles, Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier, the film provides a vivid portrait of the artist who in each new project found a challenge for himself and for the people he worked with - both actors and colleagues behind the camera.
Carl-Gustaf Nykvist's documentary about his father, Sven Nykvist. The film is based on Sven's memoirs with Sven himself as narrator. A journey to the place of birth, Moheda, constitutes the hub of the film and during the journey friends and memories emerge. Written by Fredrik Klasson
A documentary about the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was an episode of the French documentary film series Filmmakers of our time. The title of the film is a play on the title of Solzhenitsyn's novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.
40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes. The results run the gamut from Zhang Yimou's convention-thwarting joke to David Lynch's bizarre miniature epic.
In one of her best-ever roles, Julia Roberts is Grace, whose reaction to the infidelities of Eddie (Dennis Quaid) turns the lives and loves of the people around her into something like falling dominoes. Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands, Kyra Sedgwick and others in "the year's best ensemble of characters" (Jack Matthews, 'Newsday') co-star in this juicy, truthful story written by Callie Khouri
A childhood incident has convinced Faith Corvatch that her true love is a guy named "Damon Bradley," but she has yet to meet him. Preparing to settle down and marry a foot doctor, Faith impulsively flies to Venice when it seems that she may be able to finally encounter the man of her dreams. Instead, she meets the charming Peter Wright. But can they fall in love if she still believes that she is intended to be with someone else?
The events of a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.
Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who might be the guy to school the young man in life.
A young boy who tries to set his dad up on a date after the death of his mother. He calls into a radio station to talk about his dad's loneliness which soon leads the dad into meeting a journalist, Annie who flies to Seattle, to write a story about the boy and his dad. Yet Annie ends up with more than just a story in this popular romantic comedy.
Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
In desperation brought on by near-starvation, Helge Roos kills his master's ox and feeds it to his wife and baby daughter. No-one suspects anything until the meat is finished and Helge tries to sell the hide at a local market. He is spotted by the local vicar and, wracked with guilt, confesses. The vicar assures him that if he gives himself up, he'll be treated leniently, but Helge's sentence is far harsher than anyone predicted...
Documentary on production designer Anna Asp's work with director Andrey Tarkovsky, during the shooting of his film Offret (The Sacrifice).
Filmed around the time of the 1989 Oscars this documentary includes interviews with foreign filmmakers from a variety of disciplines about their experiences working and living in Hollywood.
Three stories happening in New York. The first, by Scorsese, is about a painter who creates his works helped by high volume music and an attractive assistant; second, by Coppola, is about a rich and bold 12 years old who helps her separated parents to reconciliate; third, by Allen, is a witty piece of comedy about the impossibility of getting rid of the son's role.
An ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife, while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated by another woman.
This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski's respectful movie chronicles him at work on his last film, The Sacrifice. Offering insight into Tarkovsky's working methods and transcendental aesthetics, the movie is a compelling account of the difficulties of film production. In the case of an uncompromising and visionary filmmaker like Tarkovsky, the practical problems of filmmaking are only magnified, as cast and crew struggle to realize the ambitious concepts in Tarkovsky's mind.
Marion is a woman who has learned to shield herself from her emotions. She rents an apartment to work undisturbed on her new book, but by some acoustic anomaly she can hear all that is said in the next apartment in which a psychiatrist holds his office. When she hears a young woman tell that she finds it harder and harder to bear her life, Marion starts to reflect on her own life. After a series of events she comes to understand how her unemotional attitude towards the people around her affected them and herself.
A new foreman, Huus, arrives in a sleepy Danish village, much to the delight of the unmarried women there. However, Huus becomes very friendly with Katinka and her husband, Bai, the stationmaster. Katinka, childless and in frail health, gradually falls in love with Huus, though her husband does not seem to notice. Based on the work by Herman Bang.
Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.
A 1988 documentary film directed by Alexander Sokurov, about the later life and death of Soviet Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was originally intended to mark the 50th birthday of Tarkovsky in 1982, which would have been before his death. Controversy with Soviet authorities about the film's style and content led to significant delays in the production.
After she's been attacked in her apartment, Cathy starts reliving the event in her dreams. She seeks help at a sleep disorder research center, but in doing so she encounters some unexpected results.
Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.
When a dead newborn is found, wrapped in bloody sheets, in the bedroom wastebasket of a young novice, psychiatrist Martha Livingston is called in to determine if the seemingly innocent novice, who knows nothing of sex or birth, is competent enough to stand trial for the murder of the baby.
The Making of Fanny and Alexander is a fascinating look at the creation of a masterpiece. Directed by Ingmar Bergman himself, this feature-length documentary chronicles the methods of one of cinema’s true luminaries as he labors to realize his crowning production.
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 Stindberg'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.
Swann (Jeremy Irons), an eligible bachelor in the best circles of fin-de-siècle Paris, has also some more vulgar but rich friends, the Verdurins. Through them he meets Odette (Ornella Muti), a courtesan, with whom he falls hopelessly in love. She seems to enjoy his company, for which he pays, but considers herself free to socialise and sleep where she pleases, particularly with a rival called de Forcheville. Swann’s passion turns to consuming jealousy, which leads him eventually to accept the social stigma of marrying her. One old friend, the overtly gay Charlus (Alain Delon), stays sympathetic.
Paul Snider is a narcissistic, small time hustler who fancies himself a ladies man. His life changes when he meets Dorothy Stratten working behind the counter of a Dairy Queen. Under his guidance Dorothy grows to fame as a Playboy Playmate. But when Dorothy begins pursuing an acting career, the jealous Paul finds himself elbowed out of the picture by more famous men.
As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.
A depressed section of Monterey, California is the backdrop for an offbeat romantic comedy about a pair of mismatched lovers. Doc is a lonely marine biologist and former baseball star. Suzy is a scrappy, abrasive drifter who can't even succeed as a prostitute. Add Cannery Row's band of resident drunken derelicts to the mix and fireworks result, though not the romantic kind.
This remake of the 1946 movie of the same name accounts an affair between a seedy drifter and a seductive wife of a roadside cafe owner. This begins a chain of events that culminates in murder.
Made during Bergman's tax-related exile in Germany, the film continues the story of Katarina and Peter Egermann, the feuding, childless, professional couple who appear in one episode of "Scenes From A Marriage." After Peter perpetrates a horrendous crime in its first scene, the rest of the film consists of a non-linear examination of his motivations, incorporating a police psychological investigation, scenes from the Egermanns' married life, and dream sequences.
Life imitates art when two Manhattanites — pompous teacher Willie and quiet photographer Phil — become friends after a thought-provoking screening of "Jules et Jim," Truffaut's classic film about a decades-long ménage à trois. Soon, the men meet Jeanette, a sexually liberated southern transplant who promptly falls for both of them. Frustrated passions curdle into jealousy as Jeanette entertains love affairs with each in the ensuing years.
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.
The story of the desperate love affair between a young Samoan chief and a beautiful American painter, against the will of her father, the powerful governor of the island. Amid this man-made tension comes a powerful hurricane so devastating, the lives of the lovers and the entire island are imperiled.
After years of ignoring the shy cousin whom she and her peers taunted mercilessly as a child, a middle-aged woman (Ingrid Thulin) wrenches the poor man (Erland Josephson) out of his self-chosen solitude to accompany her on a trip. Despite developments which deepen their knowledge of one another, the communication between them does not portend long-lasting intimacy.
Hattie, a New Orleans hooker, meets a photographer named Bellocq at her brothel one night and, after he photographs her, he befriends her 12-year-old daughter, Violet. When Violet is brought on as a working girl by her mother's madam and Hattie skips town to get married, Violet quickly loses her innocence and focuses on reuniting with Bellocq. But a life with Bellocq is compromised for Violet after her mother returns to town.
Zharko, leader of the Romanis in NYC, passes his position of leadership on to his unwilling grandson, Dave, leading to infighting between Dave and his father.
After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva.
On-set documentary of the making of Ingmar Bergman's 1977 film Autumn Sonata starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman, examining every aspect of the production. Unusual for this kind of documentary, there is no post-production commentary or interviews.
The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World War I.
A married couple of psychiatrists has their relationship tested when one suffers a mental breakdown.
A quiet and inconspicuous man rents an apartment in France where the previous tenant committed suicide, and begins to suspect his landlord and neighbors are trying to subtly change him into the last tenant so that he too will kill himself.
There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality and comes to a hidden place where a strange unicorn lives with a family: sister, brother, many children and an old woman that never leaves her bed but stays in contact with the world through her radio.
The Queen of the Night enlists a handsome prince named Tamino to rescue her beautiful kidnapped daughter, Princess Pamina, in this screen adaptation of the beloved Mozart opera. Aided by the lovelorn bird hunter Papageno and a magical flute that holds the power to change the hearts of men, young Tamino embarks on a quest for true love, leading to the evil Sarastro's temple where Pamina is held captive.
Following a series of bomb attacks in London, a group of terrorists seize Britain's ambassador to Scandinavia. With the ambassador now a hostage in his residence, another group hijacks an airliner at the capital's airport, announcing that the passengers will not be freed until their demands are met. Colonel Nils Tahlvik, Scandinavia's resourceful and ruthless head of security, seeks to take an uncompromising stance against the terrorists yet his attempts meet resistance from unknown forces at every turn...
In a fictional future totalitarian society ruled as a one-party state. A teacher commits the crime to teach their students to think independently and is therefore being stalked. The fictional Monismania also appeared in Astrid Lindgren's saga about the witch Pomperipossa in the Monismanian 1976.
A documentary behind the scenes of Ingmar Bergman's The Magic Flute.
Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.
Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.
Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.
As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so deeply immersed in their own psychic pains that they can't offer her the support she needs. Maria is wracked with guilt at her husband's attempted suicide, caused by his discovery of her extramarital affair. The self-loathing, suicidal Karin seems to regard her sister with revulsion. Only Anna, the deeply religious maid who lost her young child, seems able to offer Agnes solace and empathy.
Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin and his search for a meaningful way of life. His journey takes him through periods of harsh asceticism, sensual pleasures, material wealth, self-revulsion and eventually to the oneness and harmony that he had been seeking. The story is based on the best-selling novel by German Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse.
A divorced woman in her thirties fights a losing battle in Munich to attain belated self-fulfillment. The die is cast in a briskly impersonal society geared to male dominance and early training for career women.
A former getaway driver from Chicago has retired to a peaceful life in a Portugese fishing village. He is asked to pull off one last job, involving driving a dangerous crook and his girl-friend to France.
On his death-bed, Per Henrik Pistolekors must promise his father two things: first of all to kill king Gustav III, which his father hates. Second, to take his half-sister Annarella to Stockholm to find her a rich and noble husband.
Bergman’s documentary is a time machine, bringing us back to the small island of Fårö in the late sixties. A unique document with the islanders in the main roles and Ingmar Bergman as the reporter. Fårö Document is a political excursion through rural Sweden and one of his least well-known films.
Andreas, a man struggling with the recent demise of his marriage and his own emotional isolation, befriends a married couple also in the midst of psychological turmoil. In turn he meets Anna, who is grieving the recent deaths of her husband and son. She appears zealous in her faith and steadfast in her search for truth, but gradually her delusions surface. Andreas and Anna pursue a love affair, but he is unable to overcome his feelings of deep humiliation and remains disconnected. Meanwhile, the island community is victimized by an unknown person committing acts of animal cruelty.
A judge in an unnamed country interviews three actors, together and singly, provoking them while investigating a pornographic performance for which they may face a fine. Their relationships are complicated: Sebastian, volatile, a heavy drinker, in debt, guilty of killing his former partner, is having an affair with that man's widow. She is Thea, high strung, prone to fits, and seemingly fragile, currently married to Sebastian's new partner, Hans. Hans is the troupe leader, wealthy, self-contained, and growing tired. The judge plays on the trio's insecurities, but when they finally, in a private session with him, perform the masque called The Rite, they may have their revenge.
An artist in crisis is haunted by nightmares from the past in Ingmar Bergman's only horror film, which takes place on a windy island. During "the hour of the wolf" - between midnight and dawn - he tells his wife about his most painful memories.
A 19-year-old boy, after his mother's death, starts a relationship with his father's mistress, although he is engaged. The relationship continues after the woman has become his stepmother.
A young American girl is found dead in Gota Kanal, Swedens largest channel. Since there are hardly any clues or evidence at all it seems as if the murder cant be solved. Martin Beck and his men are assigned to the case. Soon they find a likely suspect and together with a police woman they begin a cat and mouse game to catch him.
A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer. The time they spend together only strengthens the crushing realization that one does not exist.
Edit is pleased that her mother agrees to let her buy a dress she loves, but which in fact is made for an adult woman.
For her feature film directing debut, actress Mai Zetterling turned to Agnes von Krusenstjerna's controversial masterpiece of Swedish feminist literature, "The Misses von Pahlen," an intense and personal seven-part novel that has been likened to the great works of D.H. Lawrence. As three pregnant women from different backgrounds wait to have their babies in a hospital in Stockholm at the outbreak of the Great War, they relive their childhood and youthful experiences via individual flashbacks. Drawing on the classic Ingmar Bergman style of Swedish filmmaking and collaborating with many of his favorite actors as well as the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Zetterling had produced a powerful fusion of personal emotional drama and a commentary on the role of women in a society in moral decline.
The pretentious critic Cornelius is writing a biography on a famous cellist and to do some research he goes to stay in his house for a few days. He doesn't manage to get an interview with the man, but by talking to all the women who live with him, he comes to learn a lot about the musician's private life none the less. Cornelius then decides to use this information and tries to blackmail the cellist into performing a composition that he, Cornelius, has written. Written by Leon Wolters
A widowed woman undergoes a true sexual awakening in this provocative drama. The change comes after her husband of 10 years suddenly dies. During their marriage she never felt a thing during sex. Then she meets a lively Pole and begins an affair. Suddenly she finds herself feeling a great deal, and happiness ensues.
Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester, her sister Anna and Anna's young son, Johan, check into a near-empty hotel. A basic inability to communicate among the three seems only to worsen during their stay. Anna provokes her sister by enjoying a dalliance with a local man, while the boy, left to himself, has a series of enigmatic encounters that heighten the growing air of isolation.
The year is 1961 and Ingmar Bergman is making a movie. While planted on the scene as apprentice to Bergman, Vilgot Sjöman (director, I Am Curious–Yellow, 1967), suggests to Swedish Television that they take the opportunity to record with the acclaimed director. In August, Sjöman and the television crew begin to capture what would become a comprehensive five-part documentary on the making of Winter Light, offering views of script development, set construction and lighting, rehearsals and editing, as well as intimate conversations with Bergman and members of his cast and crew. Footage from the film’s Swedish premiere delivers immediate audience reactions and the critics’ reviews the following day.
A young man,Erik, breaks into a photo store. But he is discovered by the night watchman and has to fly. During the flight he is picked up by cabaret singer Margot, who offers him protection. Erik, now wanted by the police, stays for a longer time with Margot and becomes her lover. Margot, however, is not alone in recruiting Erik: even the young Li is interested in him.
Anna and Karl are a young couple in Stockholm, unable to find an apartment of their own. However, they play matchmakers to make their friends Fredrik and Ulla to get together, getting an apartment of their own that way. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.
Devout Christians Töre and Märeta send their only daughter, the virginal Karin, and their foster daughter, the unrepentant Ingeri, to deliver candles to a distant church. On their way through the woods, the girls encounter a group of savage goat herders who brutally rape and murder Karin as Ingeri remains hidden. When the killers unwittingly seek refuge in the farmhouse of Töre and Märeta, Töre plots a fitting revenge.
Bertil Lund works at the wholesaling company Everything for the Baby. The supervisor Fredriksson is considering promoting him to vice-president but there is one obstacle: Bertil is yet unmarried and is thus considered unsuitable. But Bertil's friend Torbjörn has an idea: Bertil can borrow Torbjörn's wife Ulla and tell everybody that she is his wife. When his colleagues at work hears that he is married, Bertil has a lot of problems to deal with. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
The married detective couple John and Kajsa Hillman goes on a vacation to Holmfors mill where a friend of Kajsa's lives with her husband. When a young woman is found murdered it is clear that this is another case for the Hillmans.
Portrait of the Swedish poet Dan Andersson (1888-1920). Brought up during poor conditions he finds work as a temperance preacher and educator. Bored by this he travels to Stockholm to try to get his poems published. On the train he meets a rich, sophisticated art patron who encourages him and grinds his literary and philosophical formation.
From Bjørnson's novels about romance in 19th century Norway. Thorbjörn Granliden is raised severely by his parents who notice that he is drawn to the sinister farmhand Aslak. After a fight with Thorbjörn's father, Aslak leaves the farm. Thorbjörn grows up and falls in love with the beautiful Synnöve.
A man (Gunnar Hellström) meets prisoner Nils Gustaf Boman and asks him why he strayed from the straight and narrow. The prisoner says: "Put yourself in my position." The man does and sees before him himself as Nils Gustaf Boman.
About a love triangle between the soldiers 32 Svensson and 58 Jönsson and the girl Blenda. Both men ends up in jail, for different reasons. Further adventures and incidents occur.
In this adventure, set deep within the Belgian Congo, a local witch doctor decides the only way to stop a rampaging gorilla from terrorizing his people is to sacrifice a new-born baby. Meanwhile a local game warden and a journalist researching a story on the natives team up to stop the crazed simian.
The Swedish/American actor Jack Harris visits the old country for the first time in his life. One of the journalist, Ingrid Billberg, is particularly interested in getting an interview with him. She finds out secret information about his next movie, and to stop her from revealing it, Jack Harris gets her alone with him on an isolated island in the archipelago. Romance blossoms... Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
Eric and Clarence are friends from the same class in school - but from different social classes. Eric comes from the working class, Clarence from the upper class. Eric regards his studies as a way of getting somewhere, while Clarence is only interested in the drawing lessons. There are only a few months left until graduation. Clarence behaves very provocatively against the art teacher 'Sjasen'. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
Karl Oskar Bohm looks back at his life, his estranged daughter Augusta and his wife Sofia.
Karin does not belong to the nobility but nevertheless marries the mentally ill king Erik XIV and becomes queen of Sweden. The king's skilled counsellor Göran Persson wants a royal policy supporting the people and supported by it. But in relation to the nobility the king oscillates between provocative strength and unpredictable weakness. Göran arranges that some very powerful noblemen are killed. Subsequently the king tries to have them convicted of high treason by the parliament. He forgets the manuscript, mixes up all facts, and the noblemen are acquitted. But Göran speedily gathers another parliament and has them convicted. Meanwhile Erik apologises because of the unjust murders. Hence Erik is dethroned and imprisoned. Göran is executed. Karin is restricted to a castle in Finland. In the prison Erik believes that he is still the king and gives the guards presents such as all fishes in the Baltic Sea.
The complicated relationships between a circus ringmaster, his estranged wife and his lover.
The 1880s. Abandoned by his middle class parents in Stockholm, Johannes grows up in the countryside with a cobbler who regularly beats him up. Also at school he has to face regular beatings because of his Stockholm background, the only one who cares for him is a girl, Lotta, who promises to marry him one day. When he's 20 he moves to Stockholm and joins the Royal guards at the Royal palace. Quite by accident he meets Lotta again and start an affair with her. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
it's the 1840s and a rural parish plagued by drinking and fighting gets a new vicar who has decided to instill law, order and fear of God into the parishioners.
The Troubadour sits at a rock beside his summerhouse Sjösala in the Stockholm archipelago. He is composing a new ballad, when his son Sven Bertil interrupts him, telling him that an angry man is knocking at their door. It is the creditor Andersson, coming with a new unpaid bill to be put on the top of all the other. The Troubadour is tired of all economical problems. It disturbs the peace he needs to be able to write new songs, and without new songs he cannot earn the money he needs to pay the bills. To get peace and inspiration for his writing, he makes a quick decision to go to Buenos Aires. By phone he persuades his publisher to prepay 7000 kronor for some future book. On the little ferry from the islands in the sea to Stockholm city the Troubadour is carried away by his imagination into the fictitious world of his main character Fritiof Andersson. Colorful scenes from various songs are enacted before his dreaming eyes. In Stockholm he spends the night at the inn Gyldene Freden. ...
The stingy fisherman Ericsson lives on a small island north of Stockholm with his wife Johanna och her father Isak.
Albert Engström's anecdotes of Småland have been put together to make a comedy film about Johannes and Cornelius, two smallholding farmers and best friends.
1813. The Swedish army is fighting in the War of the Sixth Coalition. The popular general Von Döbeln is arrested for sending the army against the French in breach of orders by the crown prince. At the court martial he is sentenced to death but is pardoned by the king and sent to prison instead. A group of conspirators are planning to set him free and make him their leader in a coup d'etat.
