August Liebmann

Seven men in peaceful Switzerland swear lifelong friendship while the rest of the world is at strife. A conflict arises when the daughter of one falls in love with the son of another.

We are in a Zealand village in the years before the reading of the staves. Jacob, the son of alderman Jeppe, goes from farm to farm and blows for the town meeting. Today the farmers are to meet to discuss when to start the rye harvest. The young farmer, who is eager to get started, does not have much confidence that they will be able to agree. When he gets home, he asks his father why they cannot harvest right away. Maybe it will be like last time, when the rye was rotting in the field. He does not understand that they always have to wait for the others. The old farmer gives him a sharp rebuke: "Don't pretend to be smarter than you are!“

FRAGMENT | Lejla, a frivolous dressage rider, rides around with suitors and dances with death. Count Claes turns a deaf ear to all the warnings about Lejla’s behaviour. Claes only has eyes for Lejla’s beauty, but is blind to her rejections. Only when Claes offers to settle her debt does she become interested in marriage. Has Claus actually married the cat in the bag? (Stumfilm.dk)