Ingmar Bergman directed this deceptively simple, yet intricately complex, masterpiece exploring life and death, reality, and the psychoanalytic role of the artist. Liv Ullman plays actress Elisabeth Vogler, who suddenly becomes mute during a stage performance of Electra. A psychiatrist prescribes a period of rehabilitation at a seaside cottage, where she is attended by nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson). Alma reveals her soul to Elisabeth in an effort to get her to speak again. Gradually, it becomes apparent that the nurse is much more disturbed than her patient. As the story evolves, the two women begin to resemble one another more and more closely, until they psychologically exchange personalities -- if not their souls.