The Swedish Sin
While Sweden is relatively sexually liberal in many regards, much of the concept of “Swedish sin” is largely exaggerated. It is true, however, that the Swedes were ‘pioneers’ as regards to nudity with movies like Summer with Monika (1953), a film directed by Ingmar Bergman and One Summer of Happiness (1952), directed by Arne Mattsson, which sparked controversy abroad for its frank depiction of nudity.

The perception of Sweden as an amoral sexual paradise was reinforced with U.S. President Eisenhower in 1960. As Sweden was doing so well, yet seemed dangerously close to socialism and thus the reviled communists, Eisenhower claimed in a speech that the catastrophic results of a social-democratic welfare state such as Sweden were three: wanton promiscuity, high taxes and suicide.

Ingmar Bergman
Director Ingmar Bergman is the biggest name in Swedish cinema and theater. Early in his career he encountered resistance from producers and critics, but since the worldwide success of Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende, 1955) he has been the focus of continuous international attention.

His best-known films are The Devil’s Wanton (Fängelse, 1949), Summer With Monika (Sommaren med Monika, 1953), The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet, 1956), Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället, 1957), The Silence (Tystnaden, 1963), Persona (1966) and Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop, 1973). Since the making of Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander, 1982), his last film for the big screen, he has directed quite a few TV films. Bergman has also written a number of scripts, including Faithless (Trolösa, 2000), directed by Liv Ullmann.

Leif Furhammar, Sweden.se

Summer with Monika
Summer with Monika (Swedish: Sommaren med Monika) is a 1953 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It sparked controversy abroad for its frank depiction of nudity, and along with the film One Summer of Happiness from the year before, directed by Arne Mattsson, it started the reputation of Sweden as a sexually liberated place. (While Sweden is relatively sexually liberal in many regards, much of the concept of "Swedish sin" is largely exaggerated and was perpetuated by the film industry, not least by the so-called "Schwedenfilme" produced in Germany.)

The film made a star of its lead actress, Harriet Andersson. Bergman had been intimately involved with Andersson at the time and conceived the film as a vehicle for her. The two of them would go on to make several other films together, even after their romantic relationship had ended, most notably Sawdust and Tinsel (1953), Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), and Through a Glass Darkly (1961).

Text taken from Wikipedia