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Det sjunde inseglet

Original language title: Det sjunde inseglet

Country: sweden

Year: 1957

Running time: 96

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/reference

Michael  says: “It was the 17th film Bergman directed, but it was his breakout. Based on his play, ‘Transitions’ THE SEVENTH SEAL follows a knight, Antonious Block, returning from the Crusades with his squire, to find his homeland ravaged by the plague. As he questions his faith, and the nature of God, he is approached by the personification of Death. Block challenges Death to a game of chess in an attempt to stave of his fate, all while searching to the answers of life. During this match, Block and his squire encounter a small troupe of actors, passing through a village at the same time. They find themselves caught up in various altercations; the squire rescuing a mute servant woman from being raped; a woman sentenced to death by burning for cavorting with satan as a witch, the same rapist spurring a drunken crowd on to torment one of the actors. When Block stumbles upon that actor, his wife, and their young son, they share a meal of strawberries and milk on a hillside that he pronounces to be one of his best days that he will carry with him always. Eventually Block and his squire gather a small band, including the two actors, the mute servant girl and a couple of others, and pledge to lead them safely through the woods, while death and the plague bedevil them from all sides. Block never really finds the answers he searches for before his fate presents itself.

“The film, released in 1957 is beautiful in its stark desolation. Shot in black & white, along the rock coast, amidst pastoral hillsides, and through a dark forest, the moments of respite are welcome amidst all the death and devastation. Max Von Sydow, as Block, and Bibii Anderson, as the actor’s wife went on to become well known stars in several of Bergman’s subsequent films, as did Gunnar Björnstrand, who plays the noble squire. The film is masterful in its bringing together the questioning of faith with the struggles of living when death is all around.  5 cats
The Seventh Seal

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