The Seventh Seal - AHB

I didn't know what to make of this movie, and even know it is the most enigmatic of the group. Hearing Kip explain the background of Ingmar Bergman helped set the tone, and I think that Bergman's personal search really came across in the story. There's a kind of desperation to the film, which is wholly appropriate considering the title. And the blend of characters really shows the array of responses that people can have to death and God. I had a hard time digesting the title, because the film really doesn't seem to be an apocalyptic piece but perhaps there is more to it than I remember now.

The image of playing chess with Death is really fascinating; actually, everything about Death in this film is fascinating. He is given his own form and movement, and is much more of an active participant than a disinterested bystander. I laughed out loud when he cut the tree that the clown was hiding in. Doesn't that seem like cheating? I point that came across to me is that the actual event of our death is really irrelevant. We can put it off for a time, but eventually the pale-faced man in black will come to do his job.

As I mentioned, Bergman really does a great job displaying a variety of different characters and personalities. The knight plays a central role because he is caught between faith and apostasy. The tragedy is that there is no real resolution to his quest, he is cut short before he is able to answer the question that hounds him. Many of the others were able to face death head on, but who really made the better choice? Is their confidence misplaced? We can never answer this question.

The primary question within Christianity is whether faith can overcome the nagging doubts that persist throughout our lives. Both the apostate and the believer have a faith of some sort. I have come to believe that nothing related to the spiritual can be known with absolute assurance, but at some point a decision must be made.