A quirky, but happily in love young Italian couple fall in with an older, but distinctly reserved Swedish couple whilst on vacation on islands off the coast of Southern Italy. Eventually the couples seem to warm to each other as the infectious youths bring the standoffish couple out of their shells. But there is a sinister reason for the Swedish couple's cold behavior and it may spell doom for them all.
Acting
Bibi Andersson's glacial restraint vs. Rosemary Dexter's sun-drenched naivety.
Cinematography
Italian coast so gorgeous it feels like a trap.
Direction
Vancini lets dread seep through every polite dinner conversation.
Director
Florestano Vancini
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bibi Andersson made this between Persona and The Passion of Anna, completing her trilogy of playing women whose pleasant surfaces crack to reveal damage.
The film weaponizes the stereotype of reserved Nordic emotional restraint against warm Mediterranean openness—then reveals both as performances.
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