An analysis of Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'

An analysis of Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'

The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish fantasy written and directed by Ingmar Bergman based on his play called Wood Painting. The film follows Antonius Block (Max Von Sydow), a 14th century knight from Sweden who goes off to fight in the Crusades and returns home to a country ravaged by the Plague. The film’s epigram, Revelations 8:1, describes a half hour of silence after the opening of the Seventh Seal; it is within this half hour that Block and Death play a game of chess that Block uses to buy time to search for the meaning of life and the existence of God.

The themes of the film deal with universal questions pertaining to God, life after death, and destiny. 

Life after death

The question of whether there is life after Death torments Block and he seeks this answer from the church; a possessed woman condemned to burn at the stake; and from Death himself. No one, however, can answer his question. 

Amidst the threat of danger and death, there’s Joseph, Mary, and their son, Michael, who represents life after death. Michael’s connection with Jesus is supported when Joseph sees a vision of Virgin Mary. Later in the film, Michael and his parents become the target of Death as Block leads them through the forest. The film ends on a hopeful note as Death spares Michael and his parents, taking everyone else. 

Does God exist? 

Block seeks the existence of the Devil in the hopes that proving this will also prove the inverse, the existence of God. Block poses this question to a woman who is to burn at the stake for being possessed by the Devil, Block, however, is not convinced that she is possessed and he leaves disappointed.  

Matthew 11:25, “At that time Jesus said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children'." This scripture is expressed in this film by the fact that of all those in the film, the only person who Death passes over can see not only Death and the dead, but also the virgin Mary—Joseph. His child-like qualities exemplify the above verse. This may also explain why Joseph’s family is spared death by not making it to Block’s castle at the end of the film. 

The inevitability of death

A traveling performer named Skat avoids death at the hands of a blacksmith whose wife he steals and seduces. Skat pretends to stab himself in the heart with a fake knife and tricks the blacksmith. Skat is happy with himself afterwards, and climbs a tree only to look down and find Death at the bottom sawing away.  Skat begs Death, listing all of his obligations. Death continues sawing until the tree falls, killing Skat. 

It is no coincidence that Skat plays a clown in the theater, a clown being someone who laughs or takes things, in this case life and death, lightly by running off with another man’s wife. He believes that climbing a tree will protect him from any kind of danger but he learns that death is inescapable. Climbing a tree is symbolic, representing man’s belief that he can transcend the dangers of life today such as wearing seat belts, eating healthy, exercising, etc. But no matter what we do to distance ourselves from the dangers of living, death is certain and though it can be delayed it cannot be denied. This episode is also connected with Block, himself, who survives war and death in the Crusades in Jerusalem only to return to the plague and death in his own country. 

False prophets

The Bible speaks of false prophets deceiving the entire world. Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” In this film, that false prophet is Raval, the divinity student who persuades Block and Jons to fight in the Crusades promising them that doing so will lead them to salvation; it doesn’t. Raval is characterized as a thief and rapist in the film who is warned by Jons—playing God’s vengeance—who, ultimately, takes his knife to Raval’s face, marking him as a hypocrite. In another example of false prophets, priests, holding aloft a statue of Jesus on the cross, lead a procession of plague-infected villagers flogging one another with whips from the belief that the plague is punishment for man’s sins. The head priest then goes on to use fear to get more villagers to join his congregation. A friend and I had a discussion about this the other day. There are more churches in economically distressed areas than there are in affluent areas. In North Saint Louis, there are some city blocks with 5 or more churches. Taking a drive through Clayton or any of the many economically stable areas west of Skinker, you’d be hard-pressed to find 2 churches within miles of each other. I once took a half-mile stroll in Clayton starting from Forsythe at Brentwood Blvd to Forsythe and Hanley, counting the banks along this stretch which came out to be around 20; twenty banks or other financial institutions in a 5 block stretch! By contrast, I took a quarter-mile stroll in North Saint Louis from Union and Natural Bridge to Union and Dr. King Blvd and counted at least 30 churches. Even though the obvious problem up north is blight (and most of it around the churches themselves), you’re more likely to see a church, instead of a business, open up.