Ascerbic Ingmar Bergman comedy exposing the egotism and pretentiousness rife in the world of artists and critics. Cornelius (Jarl Kulle) is a self-important and highly opinionated critic who has been bribed by the egocentirc womaniser Felix, a famous cellist, to write his biography. But when Cornelius arrives at Felix's lavish home, he finds a string of women in the house, all determined to protect their maestro's privacy. The situation goes from frustrating to humiliating for Cornelius as he is dressed up in women's clothing, photographed in compromising positions, and bombarded with fireworks. He never does get to meet the elusive Felix, but finds out a lot about him from the women in the house, and, armed with this information, decides to blackmail Felix into performing a composition that he, Cornelius, has written.

Ingmar Bergman's stark look at faith is the second part of a trilogy with 'Through a Glass Darkly' (1961) and 'The Silence' (1963). A pastor (Gunnar Bjornstrand) who seems to have lost his faith after his wife's death finds himself unable to give spiritual reassurance to a local fisherman (Max von Sydow), whose wife Marta (Ingrid Thulin) has long been in love with the pastor. As the pastor deals with his own demons and the (to him repulsive) advances of Marta he finds that God may still have some hold over him.