We are in a small, psychologically isolated Swedish town, suddenly swept up in a kind of spiritual contagion. The town is bent on demonstrating its passion for godliness, often at the expense of its humanity. A strange, messianic figure, Hellgum insists on total commitment to his vision of a God who uses Hellgum as His instrument. Hellgum insists on tear apart the Ingmar's already strained family, and threatens his love for Gertrud. The town's cultish fealty to Hellgum forces Ingmar and Gertrud to make an extraordinary journey.
Few films depict religious passion with such power.
Perhaps this is because of the very profundity, the absolute subjectivity, of deep religious vision, and the alienating effect that witnessing this vision, second-hand, has on others. Other films have used very traditional means to depict transcendent religious experiences. A few exceptions stand out. He originally trained to become an advertising photographer, but then attended and graduated from the Danish Film School in 1971 and became a director of photography.