The Seventh Seal (1957)

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The Seventh Seal (1957) – I. Bergman

It had been a long time since I watched The Seventh Seal – decades, for sure.  So, I approached it with fresh eyes (and with a recent history of Bergman watching, due to the Criterion boxset I received for my birthday in 2018 – thanks Mom!).  The opening scenes are truly stunning – Max von Sydow on the rocky beach with the sun setting, confronted by Death (Bengt Ekerot) and challenging him to a chess match (to delay the inevitable). But then we are back on the return journey (from the Crusades) as von Sydow’s knight (Antonius Block) and his squire (Jöns, played sublimely by Gunnar Björnstrand) return to civilisation (as it is in the 14^th century).  There, they encounter a small troupe of actors (Bibi Andersson and Nils Poppe, chief among them) and decide to travel together back to Block’s home where his wife may or may not be waiting.  However, Death follows them each step of the way, ready to play his next move.  All the while, Bergman questions God’s existence, our faith in deities, and the cruelty of existence (Death is busy because of the Plague).  Block is clearly tormented but his pain is eased when he encounters the happy actors’ troupe, suggesting again that it is human relationships that are the way to salvation (as opposed to the ascetic sacrifice and self-flagellation suggested by other religious supplicants in the film).  Bergman claims that he used this film to come to terms with his fear of Death and given the support from various churches for the message here, it could be assumed that an afterlife has been confirmed (and the dancers following Death at the end are happily on their way to it). However, Death himself proclaims not to know and perhaps another reading of the film is a more existential one – that we need to make the best of the time we have here, treasuring the moments we share with others and taking responsibility for our (moral) actions, rather than pursuing pointless quests in the name of God.