OK, it is official that black and white films are just as good if not better than films with color. The Seventh Seal was a beautiful film that would be destroyed by color. So many images have been imprinted on my mind, but I will save them for later in the post. The Seventh Seal is a thought provoking film that is sure to cause a discussion within its viewers. Hearing the plot alone is enough to evoke a myriad of emotions. A knight returning from the Holy Crusades questions the existence of God while playing chess with Death. It is these plot summaries that I miss reading on movies today! Watching the film, these emotions are stirred into a whirlwind as Ingmar Bergman presents us with so many questions left unanswered. One thing that I really enjoyed about Bergman's film-making was that although he is an aetheist, I did not get the feeling that he was trying to impose that belief onto me. I simply felt as though he was prodding me to answer these questions for myself. Two of the most prevelant questions are "What are we here for?" and "Is there really an afterlife that God has prepared for us?". To be honest, I've pondered these questions before, and to prevent a religious war, I am going to have to keep my conclusions to myself.
Some thing that I was surprised to discover was that this film was not nominated for any Academy Awards. I will allow the acting accolades to slide, but there is absolutely no reason that this film did not receive a nod for cinematography. This was by far one of the most beautiful films it has ever been my pleasure to view. I want to buy this film on DVD and simply watch it on mute, so I can take in all of the elegance that was painted on screen. I hate to sound like a broken record with the voice of Mr. Bennett, but there really were so many moments in the film that you could pause and find a stunning picture. One of my favorites was the wild strawberry scene (I believe it was this one, I may be confusing it with another). The image was of Joseph playing his lute, with the death mask just beyond his shoulder. I did not feel that Bergman was being too forward with this image, but was just reminding us that even in a happy situation, death is always near. My absolute favorite scene in the film was the very first reveal of Death. We see a vast ocean with an endless horizon, the water very active and full of life. The music in the background slowly begins to lower in volume, and then in the blink of an eye, Death stands on the rocks looking seemingly directly as us. To me this showed how some of us our disillusioned into thinking life is an endless path, but in reality death will always be there to catch us.
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13 years ago
I agree that through this movie Bergman is not necessarily sharing his religious views, but instead asking us to reflect on our own. Each character represents a different approach to religion, and no one's beliefs are ever proven or disproven. Up until the very moment before their deaths, Antonious Block is still desperatly searching for proof of God's existence, Squire Jons is still insisting that there is no afterlife, just nothingness, and the girl is elated that death has finally come, which I interpret to mean that she, like many religious believers, feel that the meaning of life is found in death or whatever awaits after it.
ReplyDeleteNick, my opinion on the fact that it was not nominated for any Academy Awards may have something to with the fact that it is a foreign film. Back in 1957, and even today, I'm not sure if a true foreign film can be nominated for a category like cinematography, and mainly in 1957 it is possible that this movie was not allowed to be nominated in that category.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this movie would have been destroyed by color, I completely agree.
Possibly. But I noticed that Ingmar Bergman's other films, although foreign, did receive nominations. I know that if a film is in another language but is financed by the United States, it is not considered a foreign film (that is why Slumdog Millionaire was able to win Best Picture and not Best Foreign Film), but I don't know how The Seventh Seal was financed.
ReplyDeleteThe Seventh Seal really was absolutely beautiful. The images had a sharpness that really depended on the contrast between the black and white. I thought that the way light and shadow were used to emphasize certain points was ingenious on Bergman's part. I was looking for some sort of closure at the end of the film, but there wasn't really one. It was all ambiguous. No answers yet again! But I suppose I am looking in the wrong place for answers. I won't find it in a film. It has to be some sort of self-realization. Hm.
ReplyDeleteRe: Melanie. I suppose there are Existentialists who are believers. For them, the simple fact is that they will never know, hence, move on and enjoy life while doing the most you can to help others. If the judgement day arrives, you present your resume and hope for the best.
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