När ett tredje världskrig ser ut att bryta ut börjar journalisten Alexander (Erland Josephson) förhandla med Gud om att offra allt han har för att det ska bli fred.

 At the dawn of World War III, journalist Alexander (Erland Josephson) attempts to bargain with God to stop an impending nuclear holocaust.

Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky's final film was filmed on the Swedish island of Gotland. Sacrifice featured a primarily Swedish film team. Ingmar Bergman’s cinematographer Sven Nykvist was behind the lens, while the cast featured Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood and Allan Edwall, amongst others. The film was praised not only in Sweden but also by a wide international audience. No prior film at Cannes had ever been awarded such a vast number of prizes, including the Jury’s Special Prize.