The Seventh Seal

How often now do we get films that ask such existential questions such as "What happens to us when we die?" "Does God exist?" and "What's the meaning of life?" Do we still ask these questions within ourselves? Do we demand it in our films to ask them for us?

In 1957, Ingmar Bergman made his landmark film "The Seventh Seal" which dealt with issues such as life and death head on. There is no irony in the film, although today you can't help but think of the many parodies or homages other people have made of it. However, all that aside, "The Seventh Seal" has remained a powerful film, not only is it a deeply personal, and reflective work on life's great mysteries, it is also a scathing indictment of religious persecution upon God-fearing citizens.

The film begins at the edge of a desolate beach. A Knight named Antonius Block(Max Von Sydow) has returned home after ten years of fighting in the Crusades to a plague ravaged countryside. It is at this beach he sees Death (Bengt Ekerot) appear before him. Antonius' time has come to an end, but he is granted a reprieve from death as he challenges him to a game of chess; as long as they are still playing, Antonius will get to live.

The film then follows Antonius and his squire Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) across the plague filled land. The early images of the film are filled with cold and empty landscapes, and shadows of death haunt the frame. The first sign of life is a man leaning against the rock, but when Jons goes to him to ask for directions, he discovers that it is only a rotting corpse, a terrible omen indeed.

They get to a village, and we meet other characters in the film, a kindly actor named Jof (Nils Poppe) and his wife Mia (Bibi Andersson) along with their newborn child. Their lively performance in the village is cut short by the arrival of a religious caravan, and a God-fearing Monk who warns the villagers of the impending death coming to them and their only hope of redemption is if they repent. Bergman does not relent on the religious imagery in this scene, and how it is used to strike fear in the villagers. There is also a young woman seen in the village who has been captured and is scheduled to be burned at the stake for having relations with the devil; some accuse her of being the cause of the plague around the village. However, we see later, that even though she believes she is possessed by the devil, it's mostly due to her becoming mad with the fear of dying.

Now despite the thought of death hovering over the entire film, it should be said that "The Seventh Seal" isn't a depressing or even hopeless film. Bergman paints his film with sparse scenes of comfort, and warmth brought on by the goodness in humanity. Although Antonius is haunted with thoughts of death, he is given a peaceful tender moment with Mia and Jof where they sit at their camp enjoying life. "I shall try to remember this moment", Antonius says, it's statements like these where Bergman does see a point to life, enjoying the little bright moments that are given to us, because you never know how much time you got.

Bergman also plays with light comedy in the film, mostly coming from Jons, the squire, who makes up the antithesis of Antonius' frame of mind. Jons is seen as a cynic, who although he fears death like Antonius, does not take any pains to seek any answers of an afterlife. He is able to see the hypocracy of the church, which he sees as an institution that dwells on death more than anything. There is a scene where Jons has an amusing discussion with a religious artist. The artist has been commissioned to paint on the church walls, but they are images of death, Jons points out that it doesnt seem very cheery, but the artist says it's to remind people that they all die, therefore should repent before it's too late.

Jons also voices his complaints about the Crusades (A war which was started based on religion) and how futile it all was; but in contrast Antonius struggles more to find an answer. Antonius does not completely give up his faith and his pursuit in the movie is finding proof of the existence of God. But God remains silent in the film and Antonius' struggle becomes more and more futile as he asks more and more questions, all that is certain is Death.

But the film is never preachy or dismal, it remains entertaining, Bergman sometimes plays upon the type of superstition he discredits in the film to create a very atmospheric horror look to it. The film looks great in its highly stylized black and white, the use of dark shadows, dense fog and smoke add to the impending dread of the characters, it mostly resembles an old fashioned ghost story.

But like all great films, "The Seventh Seal" rises above any genre trappings, to become a great work of art. Ingmar Bergman was a man who grew obsessed with death and mortality in his films, but he was also a storyteller, and was able to work his themes into his films so they could be enjoyed to a broad audience.

For me personally, I've only just recently embraced Bergman's films, maybe it was because he dealt with such deep issues I would avoid him, but I found myself interested with his work more and more. Now I find his films much more accessible and not just for intellects who felt his themes important. Bergman made movies for everyone to enjoy on some level, they were never depressing because they were from the heart and emotion. "The Seventh Seal" shows that even though a man can be obsessed over death, doesn't mean he's not in love with life.