The Seventh Sign (1988)

The Seventh Sign

Call No: TEMP 1652

Last week I reviewed a film called The Seventh Seal, which is in no way to be confused with this movie. The only similarity that can be drawn is that both make allusions to the Book of Revelation in the title. While The Seventh Seal deals more with the idea of death, the plague and human mortality, The Seventh Sign deals with recognizing signs of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, and trying to find a way to stop it. It’s a little less “Philosophical Debate on Biblical Symbols” and a little more “Hitchcock does Bible Study”.

Despite a previous miscarriage, Abby is confident that the baby boy she’s carrying will be healthy and happy (and more importantly, a successful delivery). Soon after renting the garage apartment to a wandering stranger named David, Abby begins to notice strange things happening, things that seem to tie in all to nicely with the prophecies found in the Book of Revelation. When she realizes that her unborn baby holds the key to the final sign of the apocalypse, Abby must make a terrible decision: one that could determine the fate of all mankind.

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 Da Vinci Code (2006)

The Da Vinci Code

Call No: PN1995.9.S87 D3 2006

Every once and a while, a bandwagon full of people comes along with some new book or show that everybody absolutely loves and everyone else must see. That was how I was unfortunately introduced to The Da Vinci Code. The fastest way to turn me off of a book or movie is to tell me that it’s the greatest thing ever written/filmed/watched, etc (my only exception is top 100 film lists, collaborated from dozens of people). I like to have a reason to sit down and watch a movie, be it the actors, writers, directors, plot or just general interest. If you’re one of my closest friends, you learn that the best way to get me to read a book or watch a movie is to give me a bit of the plot and let curiosity gnaw away at me until I finally track it down. That was how my housemate and close friend got me to watch The Da Vinci Code.

“It’s not bad,” she’d said, “You know, huge religious conspiracy that could threaten Christianity.” Then she said the magic words: “Also, it’s got Tom Hanks and Paul Bettany.”

I haven’t been disappointed by them yet, so needless to say, I gave it a shot.

Almost everyone knows the premise: For thousands of years, an underground society has protected a great secret, one that would throw into question the entire foundation of Christianity. Caught in the middle of a war over the vital information are Robert Langdon (Hanks) and his newfound ally Sophie Neveu. The two must work together to stay alive and decode the clues to lead them to the truth, before someone gets to them first.

Chocolat (2000)

Chocolat

Call No: PN1997 .C445 2000b

Chocolat has always been one of those movies that I’m familiar with, but I’ve never seen. I knew it was based on a book that I’d never read. I knew it was nominated for a few Oscars that it didn’t win. And, because I have a sister and a mother who are both die-hard fans, I knew it had Johnny Depp. I watched the film and expected some kind of romantic storyline, maybe even of the rom-com variety. What I saw was something deeper than what the general summary suggested there would be.

Make no mistake, there is some romance, but it is hardly the center of the film. Juliette Binoche plays Vianne, a single mother who moves on with her daughter to a new life every time the north wind blows. Unfortunately for her, the new town she moves into is very traditional and religious, hardly a promising place to open her new chocolate shop, especially in the middle of Lent. Despite the scorn of the mayor (Alfred Molina) and townspeople, Vianne stirs up changes and manages to befriend a cynical old woman (Judi Dench), a frightened wife (Lena Olin), and a river drifter (Johnny Depp) in the process. But the troubles of Vianne and her friends are far from simple, and it is only a matter of time before the north wind blows again.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a Wonderful Life
Call No: TEMP 1649

I have a confession to make. I have never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Now I know what you’re thinking: How? It’s aired every Christmas (multiple times) and is easily considered to be a classic holiday film. The answer is: I don’t know. I’ve seen parts of it, bits of scenes here and there, but never the whole thing. When one of my housemates watched it for a class and I was left behind in the “Haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life” corner, I decided to see it. I’m glad I did.

As you may know, the movie is about an angel named Clarence trying to earn his wings. He needs to save George Bailey, a man at the end of his rope. To do this, Clarence shows George what life would be like if he had never been born. Most people know this. I knew that was the general idea when I sat down to watch it. What fascinated me was that Clarence’s encounter with George only covers the second half of the movie. There was much more going on in the film than I had originally anticipated there would be.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Call No: PN1995.9.A75 M66 2003

I had a difficult time deciding which film to review first. I went through the shelves carefully. I looked at old films, newer films, imported and animated. I made notes of films on my “to watch” list, and considered donating my DVD copies of Casablanca and The Shawshank Redemption to the library (mental note: see if that is allowed). When my housemates asked about my progress, I spouted off the most recognizable movies I’d come across. The Day After Tomorrow. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

One of my housemates stopped me. “I haven’t seen that movie.”

Bingo. Problem solved.

Now I know what some of you are going to say. “How has somebody not seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?”. As someone who hadn’t seen any of the Terminator movies until last year and The Exorcist this past Halloween, I’m not about to pass judgement. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Holy Grail in high school. My friend had the same reaction. “How have you not seen it?”, he said. He began spouting off lines about coconuts and the average wing speed velocity of a swallow, and started saying “Ni” incessantly. After seeing the movie, I understood, and found myself doing the same thing to my housemate.