My thoughts on Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'

Some thoughts on Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'

In this video, I offer my perspectives of Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal', a story set in medieval Europe that follows a Knight who returns from the Crusades to find his homeland of Sweden ravaged by the Black Plague. Antonius Block challenges Death to a game of chess to buy time to get the answers to existential questions pertaining to the meaning of life and the existence of God. A truly great film from a true master. 

'The Seventh Seal' Review

This is a review of director Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal'.

Of Ingmar Bergman's early black and white films, The Seventh Seal (1957) is my personal favorite. The story takes place in the middle of the 12th century. The black plague strikes Europe. A knight (Max von Sydow) and his squire, Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) return from the Crusades: the Crusades were a series of military campaigns by western European Christians to recover the Holy Land from the Saracen Muslims. The ocean delivers Antonius and his squire to a beach. The sky is half lit; the ocean is restless; the sun is almost under the horizon. A black bird--a scavenger--hangs over Antonius. He prays. But he and his squire are not alone. Nearby stands a tall figure in a long black robe. His face is pale and familiar--he is Death. Antonius is ready, but first he must challenge Death to a game of chess. If Death prevails, Antonius dies; if Antonius prevails, Death must allow him to live. Death agrees; his chess figures are black. The game begins.

Death and the chessboard vanish, the sun burns overhead, and once again, Antonius and his squire are alone on the beach. They find two stray horses and begin their inland journey. Deeper inland, they encounter symbols of death and danger. The clouds are light and unable to cool the sun. Antonius and his squire encounter the corpse of a monk. They stroll past an old rundown wagon. Three troubadours--Jof (Nils Pope), his wife, Mia (Bibi Andersson), and Skat (Erik Strandmark)--sleep inside the wagon. They will travel to the Saint's Festival in Elsinor, and the lead actor shall play the role of Death in a play on the church steps. Antonius and his squire visit the church in Elsinor. There, an artist is painting a fresco. Within this fresco, Death leads a ghoulish parade of corpses. The knight, Antonius Block, notices a priest inside of a small room. There, Block alleviates his conscience. Iron bars separate Antonius and the priest in the chamber who bears Antonius's confession. A black cloak obscures the priests face. Antonius speaks freely. His whole life has been meaningless. Is there a God? Antonius tells the priest of his scheme to stall Death with a game of chess. The chess game is a respite for Antonius to search out the meaning of life on earth. Antonius's confession amuses the priest. Antonius discloses his strategy: he shall outmaneuver Death with a bishop and a knight. Hearing this, the priest rises from his seat and shows his face: the priest is Death--the Knight has been fooled! Round one to Death.

And so the story progresses. Most of Bergman's early films-- Wild Strawberries, Smiles of a Summer Night, The Virgin Spring, etc.--were allegorical. The Seventh Seal is the best known of his earlier films, all of which were done in black and white. I loved this film the first time I saw it. Bergman's films and characters speak to you. Bibi Andersson--who plays one of the traveling troubadours in the film-- has starred in many of Bergman's early black and white films such as The Seventh Seal, Smiles of a Summer Night, and the Magician. Also, she has starred in many of Bergman's latter color films such as Scenes From a Marriage and Persona. Max von Sydow starred in several of Bergman's earlier films.

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.

Is there life after death?: 'The Seventh Seal' Plot Summary

This is a plot summary of director Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film '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.

Crusader Antonius Block and his squire Jons wash up on the shore of Sweden, both having fought long years in Jerusalem only to return home to a country  ravaged by the Black Plague. When they awaken, there is a chess board set up and also Death who has come to take Block; Block is not ready to die, however, and challenges Death to a chess match with the stipulation that Death spares him if he wins. They begin and 2 horses materialize out of nowhere to take Block and Jons inland to Block’s castle and wife, Karin. Their 1st encounter with death is a corpse ravaged by the plague. 

Next, the scene switches to a small wagon with actors on their way to Elsinore to perform at the Saint’s Festival.  There’s Skat who plays Death, Joseph who juggles and plays man’s immortal soul, his wife Mary and their child, Michael. Joseph sees a vision of the virgin Mary.

Block and Jons stop by a church. Inside, they find a man painting the Dance of Death on the wall. The plague, the man believes, is punishment from God. High on a hill within the painting, a procession of human figures are joined by hand behind Death.

Block enters the confessional booth and speaks to the priest who listens patiently on the other side. Block bares his soul: he wants to see God for himself; he is tormented by faith; he needs to know whether or not there is any meaning to life? The priest reveals his face and is actually Death. Block is enraged at being tricked and they continue their chess match.

Some guards outside the church prepare to burn a woman at the stake who they believe is possessed by the Devil. In a barn, a man robs a corpse. This priest, whose name is Raval, had persuaded Block and Jons to go off to fight in the Crusades, promising them that doing so would lead to their salvation. Raval attempts to rape a young woman but Jons intervenes, saving the woman and warning Raval not to cross his path again.

Joseph and his fellow actors perform in small village but they are not well-received. The show is interrupted by monks bearing a large statue of Jesus on the cross followed by a procession of villagers afflicted by the plague, whipping each other in penance. The priest warns the village of impending doom for their sins. An angry blacksmith named Plog searches for his wife. The priest whom Jons warned earlier tells Plog that his wife ran off with Skat—one of the actors —and then the priest goes on to humiliate Joseph by making him dance on a burning table in a pub. Jons enters the pub and rescues Joseph. Jons grabs the priest, reminds him of his earlier warning, and fulfills his promise by taking out his knife and slashing the priest’s face. 

Later, Mary consoles Joseph who is still upset about being forced to dance on the burning table. 

Block sits with Joseph and Mary and they share their milk and strawberries with him. Block recalls his beautiful wife and how he left her to go fight in the Crusades. Joseph plays the lute. 

But Death is nearby and when Block sees him they continue their chess match. Death takes Block’s knight and falls into a trap, Block checks and threatens Death’s king. Block is confident but this confidence changes to uncertainty when Death takes an interest in Joseph, Mary, and their baby, Michael whom Block has agreed to escort through the forest. 

Jons befriends Plog, the blacksmith who lost his wife. Plog joins Jons and Block on their journey through the forest. Plog spots his wife with Skat. The blacksmith and the actor square off and trade insults. Plog and Lisa kiss and make up; she turns against actor who plays on Plog’s sympathy, concedes his wrongdoing, and stabs himself in the heart with a fake dagger. When everyone leaves, Skat climbs a tall tree, looks down and sees Death with a saw. Skat pleads with Death but it is no use. Death saws down the tree. 

Block and the others stop to watch knights burn a witch at the stake. Block wants to know whether God exists and asks the possessed woman to put his question to the Devil. The girl’s hands are broken and Block asks one of the monks who did this but the monk turns out to be Death. The girl’s eyes are wide-open as the flames wrap around her and Block asks Jons what she sees and Jons says nothing. They leave. 

A man dying of the plague stumbles into their camp begging for water. Joseph stops Mary from giving their water to the dying man. Block and Death resume chess game by a tree but it looks like Block is playing chess by himself. No one but Joseph can see that Block is actually playing chess with Death. Their game is almost finished. Death takes Block’s queen and Block looks worried and “inadvertently” knocks over the chess pieces to buy more time from Death who is ever more impatient, promising to end the game at their next meeting. Block asks Death for his secrets hoping to get some clue as to what happens on the other side. Death cannot answer. 

There’s a storm and Mary senses Death behind them. Block finally makes it to his castle and his wife whom he can’t remember or recognize. She prepares a meal and reads revelation 8:1 as they are eating. Block hears a knock at the door and sends his squire Jons to answer it. It is Death. Everyone rises from the dinner table to greet him, all except Joseph, Mary, and their child Michael whom were left behind. Block prays but Jons mocks him, saying that there’s no God to hear his prayer. Death takes them all.

Later, Joseph, his wife, and their child wake up their wagon which is alone in an empty field. Joseph sees the shadow of Death leading Block and the others by hand on the horizon. Mary cannot see this vision. The film ends.