The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Seal

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

Starring: Max von Sydow

Genre: Foreign/Drama/ Classic

Run Time: 96 min.

Release Date: October 1958

On The Web: Unofficial Website

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

Recently returning to his beloved Sweden after participating in The Crusades, young Antonius Block (Max von Sydow, DUNE) finds himself on the beaches of his country, not really safe and not very sound. Death (Bengt Ekerot) follows him and tells Antonius that his time is up. Not willing to go until he finds out the truth about the afterlife, Antonius challenges Death to a game of chess. And it’s a winner take all game (life and death).

The game takes a few days to play, and as Antonius travels with his trusty squire Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) they encounter other wayward souls looking for life’s meaning. Most notable among these is a band of traveling actors; a man named Jof (Nils Popppe), his wife Mia (Bibi Andersson), and their infant child (thinks Joseph, Mary, and Jesus and you’ll be right on target). Jof is a juggler, but also a visionist. He can see strange things, and although this is made slight of during the early portions of the film, it is later a pivotal catalyst to the entire movie’s machinations.

Antonius and his band of vagabonds drift through Sweden as The Black Death sweeps across the nation. Death is very busy, thus giving Antonius more time to make it home to his wife (whom he hasn’t seen in years).

But once home, Death catches up with Antonius, and he has to come to terms with the afterlife, whether he wants to or not. When Death knocks at the home of Antonius Block, everyone inside has to decide what awaits them on “the other side”. Antonius prays for enlightenment about God (if there is one) and hopes to receive a sign (which never really comes).

In the end, his efforts at delaying Death help Jof, Mia and their infant child escape the unknown of the hereafter, thus giving a sense of meaning to Antonius’ life.

It is noteworthy to mention that this movie has a seriously stilted screenplay. The actors’ lines often seem strange and even out of place, making the viewer shrug in a mind-boggling way. Anybody who’s seen an Ingmar Bergman film probably won’t be bothered by this, but it is something to definitely prepare yourself for if you haven’t.

Often heralded as one of Bergman’s best films, it certainly was ...up to that point.

Being severely dated by today’s film standards, the low budget is achingly present but not overly intrusive. The sets, make-up and acting are all well-played. But the biggest star is the lighting and camera angles. Careful use of light and shadow gives a terrible sense of foreboding with a minimal soundtrack. The perching of cameras in trees and on odd angles gives the film its own original look, honoring this film with several award wins (including the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize ...actually it was a tie that year but we won’t go there).