2002 Talk About Movies
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Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

THE SEVENTH SEAL

Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Max Von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot. Sweden, 1957, 92 minutes, Black and White, Swedish with English subtitles. Available at Kensington Video

Ernie: Bergman makes a list of where God is not to be found: not in crusades, not in the order of penitents who are obsessed with death, not the church which burns witches and scares people, not even in hearth and home. The only people who are happy are the married performers, who enjoy the simplest pleasures of life and want no more out of it.

Matthew: And the man is a visionary -- he sees the Virgin and Child; he sees Death. Meanwhile, the knight who is searching for God looks inside himself and is horrified. He's got death in front of him all the time, but he achieves his salvation only when he's distracted by life and stops concentrating on his game with death. After that, he's able to say, "God, we call to you from the darkness."

* * *

Ernie: The personification of Death is perfect. He's very matter-of-fact; not cruel, just relentless. And the fact that he scolds the guy for lying while he's on his death bed shows that Death is more of a servant of good than evil.

Matthew: Death has to be silent -- it doesn't know what's beyond it. Ernie: The knight's questions are not to be answered in this life.