04/06/09 - Det Sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal)

Det Sjundge inseglet (The Seventh Seal) (1957, 96 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/

This is a classic. Surprisingly, not many people I've talked to have heard of it. Even when described as "that movie where that guy plays chess with Death for his life". I'm surprised it hasn't reached more into popular culture. Perhaps it's too dark; perhaps it's too old.

The movie does have the slower pace of older movies. It works here though. We don't want Antonius Block to die, nor his squire, Jöns, or their friends. We want Antonius Block to win the game of chess. We know what the outcome will be, though, and the slowness of the game (only seen being played in a few scenes) is tortuous - perhaps paralleling the slow march towards death we call life.

We see all these other characters in the film and there is death everywhere. The Black Plague and its consequences claim two victims on screen. The feeling of impending death is everywhere in the movie. The happiness of the play in the village is really just a song of Death and is interrupted by the procession for the girl that will be burned at the stake.

Perhaps the most moving scenes involve Antonius Block questioning God. The scene in the old chapel with Death (not yet seen by Block) in the cell is amazing and spine-chilling. The dialogue sums up faith and the questioning of faith. The other great and moving scene is with Block talking to the girl who is getting ready to be questioned and the later discussion between Jöns and Block about the fear in the girl's eyes. She, like all of us, is fearful of Death.

The people to survive Death are the traveling performers and their child. Is it because they provide (or try to provide) happiness to others in this time of destruction and despair? Is it because they are somehow more pure than the others? I'm guessing there are quite a few interpretations for their survival.

Overall, I gave the film a 9/10. This was my second viewing and the scenes were just as moving and emotional (and actually probably more so) than when I first saw it about a year ago. More people need to see this amazing piece of cinema.