Like the somewhat later masterpiece Monika, Summer Interlude focuses on a young woman's summer of love. Reflecting Bergman's affinity for backstage drama, the woman here is a ballerina reminiscing on her first lover, the awkward and reticent Henrik. The tenderness of their tentative lovemaking serves as a contrast with the older Marie's experience of disappointment. The film, Bergman's first with a female protagonist, marked a new maturity in the young director's filmmaking.