Maria, a
Finn in Sweden, wins a valuable
Contessa camera in a lottery with a man named Sigfrid Larsson, and they agree to marry to share the prize. They have numerous children. In the early 1900s, Maria takes the camera to a shop owned by the Danish-Swede Sebastian Pedersen, looking to see what price she can get if she sells it. Mr. Pederson promises to give her an estimate, and takes her photo as she leaves. When she returns to the shop, she is amazed to see the photograph of herself, and wonders how the technology works. Mr. Pederson gives her some explanation as to photography and imagery. He then gives her updated camera equipment to go with the Contessa. Though she has no money to pay for the equipment, Mr. Pederson accepts the camera itself as payment, allowing her to use it though he owns it. She uses the camera to photograph her four children, telling them not to tell anyone, including Sigfrid. She then uses it for
post-mortem photography on a girl named Ingeborg, giving a copy to Ingeborg's mother for free. Maria shows another copy of the memorial photograph to Mr. Pederson. Impressed by Maria's natural talent and vision, he accepts the photograph as payment for the Contessa. When Sigfrid is briefly arrested after an explosion during a strike killed one and injured six strikebreakers, Maria reveals the photograph of the children to him. He is later released after a witness confirms his non-involvement. Five years later in 1914, the
Great War breaks across Europe to the south of Sweden, and Maria, who has fallen out of touch with Pederson, shows up at his shop again to discuss taking photos of uniformed men. The monarchs of Scandinavia meet to discuss how to keep their countries out of the conflict, with Maria attending and taking a photograph of the kings' public appearance. She is shocked to learn her photograph of the monarchs was purchased and published by a newspaper. As the children learn more about the
Ten Commandments, including
Thou shalt not commit adultery, they note Sigfrid's womanizing and Maria's friendship to Mr. Pederson. Mr. Pederson takes a
portrait photograph of Maria, and they move to first-name basis. Sigfrid sees the photograph, and enraged, takes it as proof of being cuckolded by Sebastian. He violently confronts Maria, even though she points out his relationships with women. After an incident of
marital rape, Maria attempts but fails to carry out a
self-induced abortion. She later blames herself when the child, a son, is crippled by polio. When Maria and the children enjoy seeing a
Charlie Chaplin film, Sigfrid becomes enraged again at his belief his children are being taken away from him. He puts a knife to her throat, and while he does not kill her, he receives another longer prison sentence. While he is away, the children urge Maria to separate from him, arguing the household is better off without Sigfrid. Sigfrid is later released and Maria reconciles with him, though Maja expresses bewilderment as to why. Shortly after a social outing, Maria dies. Years later, Maja discovers Maria's only
self-portrait, taken in a mirror between the outing and her death. ==Cast==