Autumn Sonata is a 1978 tragedy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Ingrid Bergman (in her final film role), Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman. Its plot follows a celebrated classical pianist and her neglected daughter who meet for the first time in years, and chronicles their painful discussions of how they have hurt each other. It was the only collaboration between Ingrid Bergman and Ingmar Bergman (who were not related).

Plot

Eva, the wife of Viktor, the village pastor, invites her mother Charlotte for a visit to her village after seven years of separation. Charlotte is a world-renowned pianist, somewhat eccentric, aging, and has survived several husbands. Eva is not as talented as the mother (despite having written two books and playing the piano passably), but she takes pride in her life as a wife, mother, and caretaker of her disabled sister Helena, whom she has taken out of the hospital into her own home. Helena's condition has left her paralyzed, and Eva is the only one who can understand her limited speech ability. In her everyday life, Eva also struggles with her marriage to Viktor, whom she respects but does not love, and is still deeply affected by the tragic drowning of their son Erik, just one day short of his fourth birthday.