Börje Lundh

In the early 1950s Ingmar Bergman made a series of imaginative commercials for the soap brand "Bris".

In a movie studio, a fight scene is underway. The hero, played by Allan Bergner, will make an impression on the heroine, played by Ylva Vendel. But Allan is not prepared to give more than one pale hint of fight; he wants to be presentable in later scenes as well. The director wears his hair.

In the midst of a civil war, former violinists Jan and Eva Rosenberg, who have a tempestuous marriage, run a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives.

The devil has a stye in his eye, caused by the purity of a vicar's daughter. To get rid of it, he sends Don Juan up from hell to seduce the 20 year old Britt-Marie and to rob her of her virginity and her belief in love. She however can resist him and things get even turned around when Don Juan falls in love with her. The fact that he feels love for the first time now, makes him even less attractive to her and Don Juan returns to hell.

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.

Industrial development and social decay in a small Swedish town leads to unemployment and unrest. Families are forced to move to where work is available. Young workers are protesting.