The Touch

Karin is a housewife in a quiet Swedish town, married to hospital physician Andreas, and they are raising two children. Her days unfold with routine chores and family duties. The calm of her life hints at deeper undercurrents that will soon be touched by tragedy.

During a clinic visit where her mother is ill, Karin learns that her mother has died. The sudden loss leaves her distraught and shaken. David, an American archaeologist, notices her sorrow and begins to take an interest in her pain.

The couple invites David to dinner at their house, and he talks about his work at a medieval church, mentioning a 500-year-old wooden Mary statue that has been uncovered. He also confesses that he has fallen in love with Karin. The conversation marks the start of a dangerous attraction.

Karin visits David in his apartment, and they begin an affair. She explains that this is her first affair and she is uncertain whether she is in love, but the connection feels significant. The relationship starts to redefine her sense of self and duty.

As the affair continues, David's moods dominate the relationship—he becomes distant, overbearing, and occasionally angry. Karin struggles with longing and guilt, caught between desire and a sense of fidelity to her family. The dynamic grows increasingly unbalanced.

One night, Karin arrives intoxicated and unable to quit smoking, and David slaps her in anger. The incident exposes the volatility of their liaison and the harm its secrecy can cause. The relationship is shaken by this public display of anger.

David opens up about his past, telling Karin that many of his relatives were murdered in Nazi concentration camps. The confession adds a heavy, historical weight to his character and to their fragile bond. Karin listens, processing the gravity of his trauma.

Andreas visits David after receiving anonymous poison-pen letters claiming that David is having an affair with Karin. David dismisses the accusation, recalling that Andreas once cared for him after an attempted suicide. The encounter deepens the emotional stakes and foreshadows consequences.

In the church, David shows Karin the restored statue of Mary and explains that it is being consumed from inside by a previously unknown insect. The moment carries a surreal, ominous tone and mirrors the decay in their relationship. Karin’s sense of reality begins to blur with the strange revelation.

David departs for London, and Karin tells Andreas that she must go to find out why he left her. Andreas warns that if she leaves, she cannot return to their marriage, but she departs anyway. The distance between them becomes literal and symbolic.

Karin goes to David's address in London and encounters Sara, a woman with congenital health problems who claims to be David's sister. Sara guesses Karin is pregnant, though Karin withholds the paternity. Sara asserts that David will never leave her, intensifying Karin's sense of entrapment.

Back in Sweden, David asks Karin to meet him and admits life without her is intolerable. He reveals that he has accepted a position at a Danish university and asks Karin to come with him, along with her children. The proposal represents a chance at a new beginning, but also a rupture with her current life.

Karin rejects the offer, citing her duty to remain with her family and responsibilities in Sweden. David accuses her of lying and cowardice as they part ways. The film closes on the unresolved tension between obligation and desire.