The Touch (Swedish: Beröringen) is a 1971 Swedish-American romantic drama directed by Ingmar Bergman, his first English-language film.
Karin (Bibi Andersson) is married to physician Andreas Vergerus (Max von Sydow). They have two children and live a comfortable life, even if their marriage is a run-of-the-mill one. The couple befriend an American archaeologist, David Kovac (Elliott Gould), who is researching an old church in the area. David had met Karin previously in the hospital, on the day her mother passed away, and fell in love with her. Karin eventually starts returning his interest.
Provides examples of:
- Downer Ending: Andreas warns Karin that if she leaves to chase after David, he will not take her back. She goes after David anyway, but then refuses to go with him and he calls her a coward before leaving. In the end, Karin is left alone and pregnant.
- Love at First Sight: David claims he fell in love with Karin the moment he first saw her.
- Meet Cute: Played with; Karin and David's first meeting occurs in tragic circumstances as Karin is visiting the hospital after hearing that her mother passed away. But David finding Karin in a closet really feels like it would be a standard Meet Cute in lighter circumstances.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Karin gets pregnant towards the end and it's left ambiguous whether the father is Andreas or David.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Karin's mother isn't that important to the story, but the movie opens with the announcement of her death and it's because of it that Karin and David meet for the first time.
