Day 11: The Seventh Seal (1957)
Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece “The Seventh Seal” is a deeply stirring look at man’s search for faith in God and how we must all deal with the gravity of our impending deaths. With a keen use of metaphor, Bergman not only forces his characters to think upon their demise but literally confront death as it stands before them in human form. They must talk with him, reason with him, and, in the end, follow him to their life’s conclusion. Though heavy in its subject matter, Bergman gives us a beautiful portrait of mankind’s mortality and, through it, we can better understand how to enjoy the time we have.
In the “The Seventh Seal,” Antonius Block, a disillusioned Knight, returns from the Crusades to find his homeland of Sweden ravaged by the black plague. As he and his Squire journey to his castle, Block is confronted by Death, who plans to take him away. Instead of accepting his fate, the knight challenges the apparition to a game of chess where, if he wins, he is allowed to live. Death accepts and, as Block continues on his journey, the two periodically continue to play.
As the quest to his castle continues, Block and his Squire meet up with Mia (Mary in English) and Jof (Joseph), a family troupe of actors, who move about the country with their small child Mikael, as well as a host of other travelers, all seeking refuge from the horrible plague, which sweeps their nation. It is through these people and his conversations with Death that Block hopes to find answers to his questions about life, death, and God’s existence before his game of chess comes to a close.
Within Bergman’s film, two very distinct themes are represented- death and God’s existence. With death, Bergman uses visual imagery and the actual presence of death as a character to give us a more tangible idea of what goes on in our minds as we contemplate our own demise. In fact, the very idea of Death playing chess with a mortal stems from a painting by Albertus Pictor created in the same time period the film takes place. It is an ancient concept that death is a game we are born to lose and, during the devastating black plague, this was very much a real truth. It should be noted that Bergman himself was no stranger to death. At the age of six, he would help move corpses from the Royal Hospital Sophiahemmet, where his father was chaplain, to the mortuary.
]The theme of man searching for God’s existence resides at the core of Max von Sydow’s Antonius Block, but an even stronger example of this theme lies in the film’s title. The phrase, “The Seventh Seal” originates from the Book of Revelation in a passage on the end of times- ”And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). It is this silence that concerns Block. At one point in the film, while conversing with Mia and Jof, he states,”Faith is a torment – did you know that? It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call.” Even when Block asks Death, “Why should He hide himself in a mist of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles?” the reaper holds no reply. It seems in the film that God’s reasons baffle all, both of this world and beyond it.
Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” is an impacting tale, asking many deep questions, but giving few answers. This is certainly Bergman’s intention. We must answer these questions for ourselves and only then will we find true peace when confronted with the end of our time.
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