The Virgin Spring

The film's central theme is the rape and murder of a nobleman's daughter, Karin, by wild shepherds in the mountains. Her deeply religious father faces a biblical commandment not to kill, yet the pain of losing his daughter and his desire for revenge drive him to act.

The film is inspired by an old Norse legend. The pastoral beauty of the spring forest starkly contrasts with the brutality of the central scene — both in direction and cinematography, it is a masterwork.