A Woman’s Face

Year: 1938

Runtime: 104 mins

Language: Swedish

Director: Gustaf Molander

CrimeDrama

A cynical, disfigured woman entrenched in crime seizes a chance at redemption when a compassionate plastic surgeon offers her reconstructive surgery. Assuming a new appearance, she attempts to abandon her former life, only to find her past associates tracking her, endangering the fragile fresh start she seeks.

A Woman’s Face (1938) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at A Woman’s Face (1938) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In a snow‑kissed Swedish landscape where shadows linger long after the sun sets, a lone figure moves through a world of whispered threats and desperate bargains. Anna Holm bears a disfiguring scar that has hardened her outlook, turning her cynicism into a survival instinct that has led her deep into a criminal milieu. The film’s tone is stark and introspective, a slow‑burning portrait of a woman whose outer wounds mirror the moral fissures of the society around her.

Against this cold backdrop, a compassionate presence emerges in the form of a seasoned plastic surgeon. Dr. Allan Wegert has spent his career repairing the faces of war‑scarred men, and his quiet empathy offers Anna a rare glimpse of hope. His clinic becomes a haven where skill meets humanity, suggesting that redemption might be as much a matter of perception as of circumstance. The delicate interplay between his meticulous art and Anna’s yearning for change sets a mood that is both tender and fraught with anticipation.

When the surgery succeeds, Anna steps into a new identity, her former self hidden behind a fresh visage. The promise of a clean slate draws her toward a life far removed from the shadows she once inhabited, yet the remnants of her past linger like an unseen current. The world she now navigates feels simultaneously familiar and alien, as forces she cannot fully escape begin to shadow her tentative steps, hinting at the precarious balance between freedom and the pull of old loyalties.

The film moves with a measured, almost lyrical rhythm, inviting the audience to contemplate themes of appearance, self‑invention, and the fragile nature of second chances. Its atmosphere is steeped in quiet tension, leaving a lingering question: can a transformed face truly rewrite the story etched in a person’s soul?

Last Updated: December 05, 2025 at 10:08

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Redemption stories like in A Woman’s Face

Characters seeking moral salvation after a life of crime or trauma.If you liked the journey of moral reckoning in A Woman’s Face, explore other movies about characters seeking a second chance. These films typically feature heavy emotional weight, tense confrontations with the past, and bittersweet conclusions.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a character emerging from a dark past, tempted by a new, better life. Their redemption is tested by lingering threats or moral dilemmas, leading to a climactic choice that defines their new self, resulting in an ending that is hopeful yet tinged with the cost of change.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their central focus on a profound character transformation. They share a tone that balances hope with melancholy, a steady pacing that allows for deep emotional exploration, and a high intensity driven by internal and external moral conflict.

Psychological dramas with tension like in A Woman’s Face

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Narrative Summary

The story unfolds through the perspective of a troubled protagonist, often marked by a physical or psychological scar. The plot is a vehicle to explore their internal duality and moral conflict, with tension arising from their precarious position between a dark past and a fragile future.

Why These Movies?

This thread connects films through a shared emphasis on psychological realism, a consistently tense and gritty mood, and a steady pacing that lets atmospheric dread and character development take center stage over fast-paced action.

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