Alejandro E
The existence of God and the inevitability of death, seen through symbolism, are what make Ingmar Bergmar distinctive. Even without having a great mind, it does not require much effort to find the flavor, which becomes indefinable. The sequences of the nobleman playing chess against the messenger of death are anthology.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/10/24
Full Review
nick s
I think it helps to be religious or to have a fascination with religion in order to enjoy this film. I could appreciate the art but, for all the gravity the director tried to imbue, I still found it a tad cheesy.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/10/23
Full Review
Matthew B
The Seventh Seal was an important movie in establishing Ingmar Bergman's international reputation as a film director. Nowadays its reputation is a little diminished. Intellectual film critics find its imagery unsubtle, and prefer Bergman's less accessible works, such as The Silence or Persona.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, The Seventh Seal is seen by some as the embodiment of all that is wrong with arthouse cinema – a depressing, po-faced movie with pretentions to importance that risks becoming a parody of itself. Hence elements from the movie have been parodied by Monty Python and Woody Allen. Even the Bill and Ted movies spoofed The Seventh Seal for goodness sake!
However imitation is indeed a form of flattery, and later moviemakers would not have been able to send up The Seventh Seal if the imagery was not so impressive that it stamps itself indelibly in the mind. This is a remarkable achievement, and something that could not be accomplished by a subtler movie. Often subtlety means vagueness, and I see nothing wrong with a more explicit approach if it is done well enough.
Anyone who imagines that The Seventh Seal is a typically gloomy Bergman movie has probably not watched it recently. Despite its subject matter, the movie is ultimately not a depressing one. It may discuss death, the silence of god, doubt and religious fanaticism, but it also contains many moments of warmth and humour. When I see the final scene in The Seventh Seal, I am not filled with despair. I feel uplifted by it.
Made in the 1950s, The Seventh Seal reflects recent events in Europe. In the film it is the Black Death that is killing people in large numbers. In Bergman's time it was the Holocaust a few years earlier, and the threat of a nuclear war in the future.
Faced with so much death in his own world, Bergman examines the many ways in which people have attempted to come to terms with their own mortality. Some people view it as a punishment from God and turn to religious self-repression (the flagellant monks) or seek scapegoats (the witch burning). Others like the actor Jonas Skat (Erik Strandmark) seek escape through lechery. Block chooses to fight it; Jons makes cynical jokes about it.
It is Block's quest to find God and meaning which drives the story forward. He went on the Crusades, a religious war, and yet his suffering in the Holy Land seems to have been pointless, driven on by Raval, a cynical theologian, who is now a thief and a bully. Block faces death in despair because he cannot reconcile himself to God's silence.
God's silence is the theme of many Bergman movies. Here it is encapsulated in the film's title. The Seventh Seal is the last one to be broken by the lamb in the Book of Revelation. We are told that after it was broken, there was silence in heaven for an hour. This is the problem that Block wrestles with: "Is it so cruelly inconceivable to grasp God with the senses?" he asks; "Why should He hide himself in a mist of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles?"
Nothing is resolved, and the film offers us no final answers, because nobody knows what those answers might be. If the film cannot provide us with that final closure, it does at least offer up the issues with intelligence, imagination, warmth and humour. Watching The Seventh Seal leaves me with a feeling that death is not as horrifying as it seems, but that it is better to treasure the moments of life that I have been given nevertheless.
I wrote a longer appreciation of The Seventh Seal on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/the-seventh-seal-1957/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/18/23
Full Review
Parker E
Death is always present, watching, and waiting.
"We must make an idol of our fear, and call it god"
In a landscape full of death and misery how do you find the will to live? Maybe find love, make jokes, find god, or destroy the source of the death. The Seventh Seal shows a knight and his squire making the journey home, and we watch various people trying to survive during the Black Death.
The Seventh Seal is a bleak look into living, Religion, and death. But it's also a hope for the future that the living will continue living.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
08/31/23
Full Review
Alonso G
Me recomendó esta película el friki de mi amigo y es la película más sobrevalorada de la historia, al igual que su director. Yo con mi iPhone hago mejores producciones que esta
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
08/13/23
Full Review
Il B
"Faith is a torment. It is like loving someone who is there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call."
God, the Devil, Death himself - all beings of a higher power. Belief - rather fear is what gives these entities power - our fear makes them stronger, our belief - eternal.
Ever since the dawn of time man has questioned his existence - his purpose on this rock we so passionately call home and one day someone started believing in the theory of a higher power having placed us on this rock; a being so powerful, one must fear and worship, for those who do not worship, succumb.
These believers called this powerful entity: God.
To frighten misbehaving children, parents created a belief, that an adversary of this God exists - a demonic version of this God - a fallen disciple, he was to be known as the Devil - the torturer - the lord of sins, neglecting God makes this Devil more and more powerful.
Children are always taught to behave and be good - as a result of their well behaved lives, they are permitted to enter heaven - the promised land - God’s home.
Should they however spend their lives misbehaving and committing sins - they are banished to hell - the land of eternal torture - the Devil’s home.
We spend the entirety of our lifespans searching for the meaning of our mere existence, to understand why - how we live, to answer questions which have never before been answered, to believe in that which we cannot see - yet we fear it nevertheless. All this whilst Death watches and awaits the moment of our passing.
The Seventh Seal depicts the tale of a knight - Antonius Block, who after spending a decade away from his beloved home - returns in the mist of a plague known as The Black Death, whilst finding before him the person all mortals fear - Death himself.
Block challenges Death to a battle of chess in exchange for his life. Should Antonius win, he lives, should he lose, he dies.
Ingmar Bergman has an incredible reputation of creating works of art and The Seventh Seal is no different. From a wonderfully crafted screenplay, incredible acting, unique directing to a haunting - yet entertaining plot,
The Seventh Seal is one of Ingmar Bergman’s best pictures and an iconic film in the history of cinema.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
07/10/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
Post a rating
>
