Famous Collabs: Ingmar Bergman and some sparse Swedes [Just to point out this film is free to watch on YouTube with subtitles now] *ahem* …I was promised chess >:( So the Seventh Seal is a morality play written and directed by the great Ingmar Bergman, and follows a Knight, Antonius Block, and his squire whom have just returned from Crusading in the Holy Land to plague ridden Sweden- and find that the church, the circus and death himself awaits them on their long journey home. Now as unattractive as a black and white 1957 near two hour play entirely in Swedish with only sparse live string music may sound- If you peel of the prejudice and cynicism plastered on by modern audiences it’s actually a surprisingly enduring stroke of inquisitive genius, one of which simply isn’t fit to be made in the current Hollywood climate anymore. It tears itself away from the generalisation that all old films are ham-handed works of melodrama with no room for complex emotion or any hidden message, and presents us a raw work of visionary art brimming with assured direction, superb visuals and harrowing commentaries on the church that are still visible today. The crusading Block is a man silent and contemplative, a man unlike many others who has stared death in the face in the holy land and has the courage to calmly resist its unflinching inevitability in the wake of the Black Plague. The famous image of him playing chess with death himself is undoubtedly genius- the knight at first filled with an unmistakably human cockiness and brash arrogance as he flaunts his stratagems and movements, only to discover death was listening the entire time. As man would, he calls death a liar and a cheat- but the knight realises that he is only prolonging defeat no matter which pieces he plays, surrendering his confidence to explore the existence of god in his final hours, a man he has fought for his entire life, sacrificed a wife and home to kill in the name of- and yet whom has abandoned him in the face of his own demise. Death himself is brimming with a quiet confidence and casts a shadow over the entire film even when he is not physically present. Death is embodied in the plague and the sickness that is lightly scattered throughout the optimists and idiots who ignore the plague like a false curse, wishing it away with happiness and kind thoughts. One would imagine the personification of everything humanity fears would be absent of any morality or restraint, but this death his merciful to the innocent and remarkably human, almost unnervingly so. His bleak visage of silent and impending doom is animated, not lifeless, showing pride in his victories and wickedness in his trickery and cunning. It is death’s unmistakable humanity in the Seventh Seal that makes him so intriguing- that perhaps man’s ultimate fear, brought to the forefront of his shallow head in this time of disease and fetid rot, is actually a copy of himself- that life is some abstraction to the real face of humanity and that only the plague can bring man to stare deep into the mirror and see the reflection of a corpse. But it is those who choose to skirt this existential epiphany with prophecies and lies that are truly the most interesting in this film. The church’s talk of the apocalypse and demise of mankind sparks not fear in those who watch on as a concession of solemn priests drive cross-bearing weepers with whips across a dark plain-nor the preacher who targets members of the crowd as those to next fall to the decay. One would assume that such a horrific state would force those men unbound by religion to appease god and drink in his biblical will- but here the church is exposed for what it really is; its mask of truth rotted off by the Black Death. Some follow for final repentance, some sit in quiet contemplation, but many return to the play acted out as the priests pass- oblivious to the doom fit to befall them. Despite this, soldiers watching still burn a witch at the Christian’s request. It’s an infinitely important comment on the hippocracy religion inspires in areas of violence (that is still present today), and that human nature deems any excuse valid for causing pain and suffering in a time riddled with such evils- but it is those who do not take these opportunities that sadly have to die (“I could have raped you”). The man who convinced the knight to take up the honourable banner of god is now thieving gold from the dead- demonstrating to the knight very early on that his pilgrimage spattered in the blood of his fellow man was for nothing. He searches for the truth, turning even to the devil for answers, but finding that such a being is probably fictional- denied by death as outside any knowledge of man or even himself. Despite all the church’s ecclesiastical monuments, their teachings and texts, the prayers of their followers and sacrifices of their brave and greedy warriors- God is silent. Man is left alone only with death as a companion- no voice to guide him- a grim inevitability that may be unquestionably bleak, but in an apparently fruitless search for a higher being by a man breathing his last breaths in his final hours- why waste time on such things instead of truly living? 3- Undoubtedly brilliant and viciously accurate- the Seventh Seal‘s audacious religious stance and moral judgement is unique and sadly non-existent today- and is a film to be hated by ANYONE without much patience now bathing in a sea of explosive modern film-making that now fills our shelves; and even without this historical bias, it can be a tad too meta at times ( “I am unknowing” 0.0 ). Not truly enjoyable, but, much like 2001- it’s endlessly explorable and a visual feast for any film lover- whose message has weathered the storm of time and still resonates in today’s fragmented society- with new, albeit less obvious plagues that haunt our lives. Essentially imagine if Shakespeare had ever worked in Hollywood. Is this one of the best films ever made? Probably. One of the most important? You have no idea. 9/10 (no.5) https://youtube/watch?v=mbgiWPJLSsM
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 17:54:14 +0000
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