1935年，威尼斯，狂欢节之夜。一叶小舟从水上缓缓驶来，停靠在石头砌成的岸边。两名穿着白大褂的医生和几个黑衣人以及一位戴着面具的中年男子走下船。他们鱼贯而行，进入一家古老的饭店里，给那里的一名精神分裂症发作的妇女套上白色的拘束衣，并把她绑在一副担架上。那名妇女叫艾格妮丝，是一位瑞典作家;那个戴着面具的男人就是她的丈夫戴维·施普伦格尔。戴维一行毫不理睬艾格妮丝的挣扎和喊叫，他们给她也戴起一副面具，然后把她抬回到那只船上。小船慢慢摇离了岸边，他们将把她送到位于一个小岛上的精神病院去。

Helen, a priest, is approached by scientist Lisbeth with a desperate plea for help. A young man, who has been sent to a high security psychiatric ward after having killed an old couple, has attempted suicide while rambling about God. Having been part of an experiment attempting to humanize inmates by assigning them pets, the young man has suddenly gone ballistic. Fearing that he will attempt suicide again priest and scientist must now confront their mutual animosities while trying to grasp the truth. In a race against time the two women begin a shocking journey deeper and deeper into the sick mind of a young man's soul.

A fairy tale and satire about a wealthy industrialist, whose son has been subdued and oppressed and totally uninterested in his father's business.

Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden.

Lea从小就成长在一个无法给她任何保护的家庭里，她原本是一个快乐而好奇的小女孩，然而当她的母亲回到前夫Ole身边时，她的生活发生了猛烈的变化。面对日常生活中的诸多烦恼，Lea只得借酒消愁。生下女儿Sonja之后，Lea希望和自己的家庭有一个了断，开始一段新的生活。她希望能把自己的女儿好好抚养长大，给女儿自己从未获得的保护。然而，很快Lea发现，她心有余而力不足，于是他不得不做出一个不可能的决定。