One Summer of Happiness (1951)

One Summer of Happiness (Swedish: Hon dansade en sommar - She danced for a summer) is a 1951 Swedish film by director Arne Mattsson, based on the 1949 novel Sommardansen (The Summer Dance) by Per Olof Ekström. It was the first Swedish film to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. Today, the film is mainly known for its nude scenes, which caused much controversy at the time and, together with Ingmar Bergman's Summer with Monika (1953), spread the image of Swedish "free love" around the world.

Synopsis

The film tells the story about the university student Göran who spends a summer on his uncle's farm, where he meets the young Kerstin. They instantly fall in love, but Kerstin is ruled by very strict relatives, so they must hide their love story from everyone, not the least from the extremely strict vicar. They experience an intense summer together, and Göran dreads the idea of returning to university in the autumn. But a motorcycle accident puts an end to it all, with Kerstin dying in Göran's arms.

Actors