"In desperation brought on by near-starvation, Helge Roos kills his master's ox to feed his wife and baby daughter, setting off a devastating and unexpected chain of events."
Max von Sydow
as Vicar
Stellan Skarsgård
as Helge Roos
Ewa Fröling
as Elfrida Roos
Erland Josephson
as Sigvard Silver
Liv Ullmann
as Maria
Björn Granath
as Flyckt
Björn Gustafson
as Officer in Command
Lennart Hjulström
as Svenning Gustavsson
Helge Jordal
as Navvy
Agneta Prytz
as Old Woman
Rikard Wolff
as Johannes
J.E. Beaucaire
as Shop Owner (uncredited)
Sven Nykvist
as Shop Owner (voice) (uncredited)
Henrik Schildt
as Judge (voice) (uncredited)
Director
Director of Photography
Marianne Johnson
Script Supervisor
Klas Olofsson
Co-Producer
Joseph C. Stillman
Line Producer
Executive Producer
Bengt Widell
Assistant Director
Anne von Sydow
Berndt Frithiof
Sound Mixer
Lasse Summanen
Writer
Bo Persson
Sound
Stefan Ljungberg
Jan-Erik Lundberg
Bengt Persson
Production Manager
Jean Doumanian
Producer
Editor
Luboš Fišer
Original Music Composer
Kaj Grönberg
Makeup Artist
Magnus Magnusson
Set Decoration
Peter Høimark
Production Design
Inger Pehrsson
Costume Design
Caroline Reedtz-Thott