Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Director: Ingmar Bergman. Cast: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Anderson. 96 min. Sweden. Drama/Fantasy.

I first saw this most famous of all Bergman films 10 years ago, during the "pre-illumination" phase of my life. And I didn't get it. Now, watching it again, I've realized at what profund levels it works. Bringing up questions about God, death, faith, evil, and in other words the concept of doubt, is what makes this an everlasting classic. Some movies are not to be watched before a very specific age, or before a specific amount of self-reflection. Some movies need a lot of background for their true beauty to be grasped.


Mo says:

2 comments:

  1. One of the most impressive and phylosophic work of art i've ever watched im my entire cinematic life!even after years , title of movie and reminding clearly those famous scenes (like playing chess with death and the last scene of waiting , just longtime waiting ) still shaking my back, to remeber how close Death is to us,...stays with us .I guess i should see it tonight ,especially after reading your analysis and the concept of "Doubt" you brought .

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  2. Watching it for the second time, I realized my favorite character was not the knight, but the knight's right hand man, which appears to play the knight's "conscience". His blunt attitude towards the events was quite engaging.

    And how similar the repenting religious group was to Muslims' mourning carnivals! It's a show every religion needs to play in order to attract some followers.

    Hope you enjoy it one the second viewing!

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