Monika (Harriet Andersson), a restless, sexually harassed vegetable seller, and her more bourgeois boyfriend Harry take off in his father's boat for the islands in the Stockholm archipelago. There she teaches him how to dance, how to make love, and how to steal vegetables; they dream of a family. But these Borzage-esque lovers turn into characters out of Pierrot le fou in a life of dubious freedom.
“Harriet Andersson in Monika is one of the miracles of cinema. She embodies once and for all youth, beauty, freedom, rebellion. I see her as pure poetry. When I was shooting Cold Water I was inspired by one shot in Monika, when she runs holding the piece of meat she's just stolen.”