埃里克森牧师在瑞典一小镇宣扬基督的爱,认为爱是上帝存在的证明,但围绕在他身边发生的事却弥漫着世界末日的气息,因为他与人全无沟通。上承《犹在镜中》,下启《沉默》的《信仰三部曲》中间作品,场景集中(室内剧形式),时间短促(发生在一天内),虽然简洁但传递出深刻的涵义。On a cold winter's Sunday, the pastor of a small rural church (Tomas Ericsson) performs service for a tiny congregation; though he is suffering from a cold and a severe crisis of faith. After the service, he attempts to console a fisherman (Jonas Persson) who is tormented by anxiety, but Tomas can only speak about his own troubled relationship with God. A school teacher (Maerta Lundberg) offers Tomas her love as consolation for his loss of faith. But Tomas resists her love as desperately as she offers it to him. This is the second in Bergman's trilogy of films dealing with man's relationship with God.