When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

Early in the 20th century, middle-aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman and his young wife, Anne, have still not consummated their marriage, while Fredrik's son finds himself increasingly attracted to his new stepmother. To make matters worse, Fredrik's old flame Desiree makes a public bet that she can seduce him at a romantic weekend retreat where four couples convene, swapping partners and pairing off in unexpected ways.

A working class teenager comes of age in 1910s rural Sweden, moving through a series of jobs and romances that gradually shape his future.

A new teacher arrives to the small village and he soon stir up some trouble with his modern way of looking at things. He also stir up some amorous feelings among the local women.

A traveling magician and his troupe arrive in a Swedish town in the 1840s, where their act is scrutinized by local authorities and a skeptical medical official. Their stay leads to a series of confrontations that test the boundaries between performance, belief, and deception.

One summer day, two teens begin a reckless affair and abandon their families to be with one another.

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.

During a witch trial in the seventeenth century a woman is accused of being a witch and burned at the stake. The witch curse the village priest who pushed through the accusations and promises that her offspring will avenge her. During the Caroline the priest's son take over as vicar of the congregation, and the daughter of the witch bewitches him so that he suffers constant erection. This is off course very embarrassing for the vicar. The local women has to step in and try to set things right

To get away from his nagging wife, a man goes to a desert island to settle down there.