The Seventh Seal (1957)

The Seventh Seal

Call No: TEMP 880

Note: Swedish Film, English subtitles

The last time I saw Max von Sydow, one of the main characters of The Seventh Seal, was when he was playing the legendary demon expeller Father Merrin in a little film called The Exorcist. At the time I thought he was a talented actor, simply based on that role. Now that I’ve seen him in his younger days, my original impression of him was right. His quiet, unassuming but passionate presence makes him an interesting character study in terms of the roles he plays. His role as knight Antonius Block is another exceptional performance.

After spending the last ten years fighting a crusade in the Holy Land, Antonius Block and his squire Jons have returned to find their home ravaged by the plague. Block has felt Death following him for a long time, and finally meets him. In an effort to buy himself some time, he challenges Death to a game of chess. As Block and Jons travel along the road, Block begins to question the existence of God, the meaning of life and the existence of the Devil. As they encounter friends and allies along the way, Death’s game of chess becomes shorter and shorter, and it’s only a matter of time until the game is finished, one way or another.

The film covers an impressive number of topics in a short amount of time. From a philosophical approach, there’s a great deal of interesting material and questions discussed. Block questions everything as he goes, reminding himself of his own morality at every turn. For the first part of the movie, we’re limited to the opinions and outlooks of Block and Jons, who are almost opposites in their opinions of the world. As they continue and interact with others, we see how Block’s questioning of the world compares to others he meets, including a husband and wife pair of acrobatic performers with their baby son.

The film also captures the historical element with careful clarity. Sometimes a film may have great writing and ideas, but the background or setting of the film is historically inaccurate. Setting the film during the Black Death, and showing the repercussions and different groups involved in it, adds a more solemn and desperate tone to Block’s questions about life, death and everything in between.

Antonius Block stops on the road to continue his chess game with Death.

Despite this, I was pleased to find that the film still manages to incorporate some humour to lighten the film in places and give the audience a break from the constant doom and gloom. Most of this humour and entertainment is provided by Jons and Joseph, the husband of the performing pair. I enjoyed Joseph’s character from the start, but was turned off by Jons personality at the beginning. Throughout the film you come to know Jons better, and by the end of the film I found him to be the most developed and intriguing character. There’s a great scene in which Jons and Joseph are watching another couple fighting about infidelity and the predictability of women. It’s scenes like this that not only give you a break from the disheartening scenes, but make them all the more tragic in terms of what came before.

If you’re feeling philosophical and intrigued about the meaning of life, you might want to give this one a try. If you want something depressing, I hear Black Swan will do the trick. If you’re in an exceptionally good mood, I probably wouldn’t recommend either.