Private Confessions can be seen as the last part of a loosely united trilogy - with the SVT series The Best Intentions (1992) directed by Bille August and Daniel Bergman's directed film Söndagsbarn (1992) as the previous work - based on Ingmar Bergman's stories about his parents complicated relationship life in his marriage and also some of his own childhood memories (all in a somewhat rewritten form).

The series is divided into two parts of long film length, a total of 195 minutes, and is produced by Sveriges Television in cooperation with the other Nordic national public service broadcasters.

As an independent continuation of the longer series, the story beings with the main couple, the clergyman Henrik (Samuel Fröler) and his wife Anna (Pernilla August), a few years later in the 20th century.

Many years later, Anna, consumed by contradictory feelings and guilty of the deceit against her husband, confides in her old confirmation clergyman, Jacob (Max von Sydow).

Through the series, Anna has various profound, existential conversations with the people around her: Jacob, Henrik, Tomas, her mother Karin Åkerblom (Anita Björk) and her friend Märta (Gunnel Fred).