The life and times of the Scandinavian artists' colony who lived in Skagen on the Danish coast during the 1890s. Not so much a biographical account, rather a portrait of a way of life. The painters became famous for the way they used the light in their work, and this has also been mirrored in the cinematography.
Danish teens come of age in 1963. Bjorn and Erik are close friends. Bjorn is pursued by Kirsten, a future Stepford wife, but he falls for Anna, who initiates him into love and sex. Erik is somber, caring for his home-bound mentally-ill mother while his strict father rules his life. He desires Kirsten, but she's unattainable. Pregnancy, a horrific abortion, an engagement party, and a revelation about the rectitude of Erik's father lead to a climax: Bjorn and Erik must stand up to controlling adults.
In a sexual and romantic drama of intrigue, lies, and gossip, a young woman over a long period of time, has children by both men, her husband and lover before her deception begins to fall apart. Elise (Ann-Mari Max Hansen) is an outgoing, happy woman married to Henry (Ole Ernst), the town doctor. Because of a mix-up one day, she finds herself first compromised and then romantically involved with William (Henning Jensen), a captain of the Dragoons. Her story is told from the viewpoint of the town vicar, who may not be such an innocent bystander as he first seems. Eventually, gossip begins to run rampant, and Elise's life heads for a radical change.
During a production of "Hamlet", the withdrawn lead actor and the girl playing Ophelia, who has just escaped a life of drugs and prostitution, spark an unlikely and low-key romance.
