What Bergman's The Seventh Seal Taught Me About Movies

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Legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece The Seventh Seal explores existentialism through the perspective of a 1400's Knight returning home from the crusade. On his way home he meets Death and challenges him to a game of chess because he 'once saw it in a picture.' Our Knight is referring to the iconic medieval Swedish painting Death Playing Chess, which inspired this film. And this film has inspired countless more stories about faith, death, and existence.
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#theseventhseal
#ingmarbergman
#existentialism
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[@LarsenMasterPrints]

I just watched The seventh seal about 15 minutes ago and this video was super helpful in processing all the information I just got out of it.

[@HM13895]

This film is a stunning work of art

[@MrSoBitchy]

I love this film. Out of all the things I learnt with it, I noticed something the 3rd time I watched it: the only thing that survives death, in the end, is art

[@jessieessex]

🏆

[@johnnyr4767]

Art survives no more than the ocean does, but you latched onto the art because the one who made it dies eventually

[@GroovingPict]

the fact that this movie wasnt even nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars is absolutely astounding

[@janedoe5229]

The first time that I saw this film, I was convinced that it was filmed during the actual crusades. I was so engrossed in it.

[@md.nurealam6548]

I born and raised as a Muslim in Bangladesh, but I received spiritual teaching from a Christian professor in USA. My dilemma was the values I taught as a child in Islam is what I have seen in a Christian. This movie was a great watch for me.

[@edwardhernandez8289]

The law is impossibly heavy to carry unless seen from the lens of love. Unless motivated from a love of God or love of neighbor, there is no hope. I find the Islamic faith heavy on the law but not on love. Whereas Jesus Christ is both the law and love in perfect union.

[@BlueBirdsProductions]

Mohammed married a 6 year old and got her pregnant after he raped her when she was 9 and he was 62. So that should help with your dilemma, really should.

[@J12680]

The seventh seal changed me this year.

[@DigitalMadrigal]

Camus's The Plague (written in 1947) prolly inspired this movie. I think Jons is a good example of an absurdist, which is why he is very comical. Camus would approve of that character, I believe.

[@KingOrest]

I just watched it last night after being on my watchlist for years. I was speechless, not knowing what to think or say about the film. Thank you for your perspective.

[@genghiskhan7041]

For the record Lutherans are Protestant. The original Protestants, actually. Thanks for the interesting review, I should check this movie out.

[@cmcapps1963]

Exactly! Perhaps he meant Evangelical; most American Protestants are Evangelical today, but most Lutherans I know aren't, or at least wouldn't like to be called that. Still, he uses the wrong term.

[@heidibarker9550]

Every time this film is mentioned it sends through a spiritual spiral, I love it. I admit I was a bit taken aback because I (for some strange reason) thought that the whole film was the chess game between our protagonist and Death, just them on the beach playing chess for about an hour. I love the cinematography and how it poses so many questions each with a different interpretation, depending on the viewer's own faith or beliefs. I was raised Catholic and am now agnostic so this film is great viewing for my personal context.

[@christinadzindzio3632]

OK. I'm convinced. I have to watch it. Very deep dive into this film. I enjoyed it

[@musey6679]

Good video. Often works that explore death and essays on them irk me, but you articulated a complicated feeling well. Here's to hoping you find your answer on your own journey with the unknown after.

[@GroovingPict]

It's a sad fact of reality that a movie in a foreign language (to your own) can never be fully translated in a way that catches all nuances of language. You can never capture the nuances and double meanings etc, because those nuances or double meanings might not exist in that way in the language you are translating to. And so some meaning must therefore be lost. This I think is particularly important in a movie like The Seventh Seal. In the scene where Antonius created a distraction by knocking over the pieces, Death asks "hadde du glädje av ditt uppskov?"; Antonius: "Ja, det hadde jag"; Death: "Det glädjer mej". And while the translated subtitles are technically correct, it misses the nuances of the no doubt deliberately chosen language. Notice the word "glädje" in both Death's question and Death's response to Antonius's answer. "Glädje" means happiness, but it is also used in the context of someone benefiting something from a situation, or a "gain" like the translator chose in the subtitle here. So Death's question can be taken several ways: "did you enjoy your little distraction?" or "did your distraction give you happiness?" or "did you benefit from your little distraction?". Antonius straight-forward answer is simply "Yes, I did". To which Death's response can again be taken several ways, with the different meanings of "glädje" (and his little smirk as he delivers the line). It could be as simple and straight-forward as "Im glad you enjoyed it". Or it could be "Im glad too, that your selfless act had the outcome you hoped" (possibly for the sake ot Antonius's soul in the afterlife). Or yet a third possibility could be a more chilling "It benefits me too" (even though the "too" isnt spoken). I think this is very deliberate, and I think to some extent all those subtly different meanings are intended to be true. So again it is sad that it is lost in translation when translating to (for example) English.

[@personanongrata987]

I learned something about movies from this review of yours. Thank you. --

[@nicolehafner614]

I have seen the art of Albertus Pictor or Albertus Målare as we call him in swedish, in another church outside Uppsala. It was breathtaking although the church celing was rather small. I want to see the chess painting and also more now than ever watch this movie. 😁

[@KING7CANTONA]

14 hundreds aren’t the same as 14th century

[@lilliescamcorder2911]

Does century’s not mean hundred?

[@cmcapps1963]

@@lilliescamcorder2911 Not exactly. The 1st century AD is actually the 0s (years 01-99) so the 100s are actually the 2nd century, 200s the 3rd century, and 1900s the 20th century. Common mistake and not especially valuable to know if you're not a historian but for those who are its a bit of a pet peeve.

[@Funkywallot]

Bergman and Tarkovskij were the first ones that offered me alternatives to free myself from the claws of easy digestible bubblegum Pop-culture. I´m glad i took the offer 😉 back then in my 20´s

[@rahat3181]

This was a beautiful, beautiful analysis of the film. Never thought of the mute girl as an archetype of the broken and when you mentioned it, it all made full sense. I thoroughly enjoyed this, even watched this a second time. P.S. what do you think about Death saying that there's no loophole in Skats particular case? Does that mean Death was aware of the other actors' fleeing death for the interim?

[@otemizz]

Amazing review. Thank you for this much informative insights!

[@RWAC685]

One Of The Greatest Films In Cinema History.

[@alohm]

9:40 I would agree as did J Krishnamurti. It is a personal path we seek, that can be within the organized faith systems, but we so often give up our own search for reassuring words and ideas from others...

[@aaroncampbell80]

It’s ironic that you mention Stalker in a video about The Seventh Seal, because both of those films loosely inspired my own short film for my Moving Image Arts class

[@cruddddddddddddddd]

Such a great film. If you haven’t yet, check out Bergman’s Winter Light. It’s another brilliant meditation on faith and the existence of God... perhaps a little more cynical than Seventh Seal, but worth the watch

[@jejethejeplalq821]

I think Jöns is more of an agnostic or an apatheist or a nihilist than an atheist. He's also my favorite in the movie.

[@fuqupal]

Or maybe he's just a realist

[@JH-lo9ut]

He's no nihilist, because he clearly is an ethical person. He has a moral code that he lives by, only it doesn't align with the church's.

[@lilithhedwig5408]

@@JH-lo9ut does he though? He explicitly threatens to rape the mute girl and says the only reason he’s not doing it is because “he’s tired of that kind of love, it gets cold after a while”. I don’t think that was just casually there, even though the reviewer skipped over it

[@juanpadilla3203]

Nicely done 👍

[@adikravets3632]

5:03 he is pretty damm good!

[@dorianacambria2405]

Great analysis, thank you!

[@gectiki4850]

This film is art

[@stevendavis1940]

Nice tribute. But it's not Revelations. It's Revelation.

[@kidmarine7329]

Great analysis.

[@kushyglowy8409]

Truly inspiring

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

great movie

[@jaimeop4550]

Great review!

[@andydufresnefromshawshank5866]

I relate to Yoff out of all characters

[@onkel_arne8927]

Incredible video

[@loverupom]

Love from Kolkata, India

[@jaytherestless2117]

The complexity of people, between what they feel what they say and how they act, he may say or even think he dislikes women, but his impulse is to protect the vulnerable none the less

[@ericruiz4404]

The mute girl’s only line of, “It is finished” is actually word for word Christ’s on the Cross. The significance, which you mention and which I’d like to deepen, is the joy set before them. Both Jesus, Christians and the mute girl understand death is a doorway - behind they leave suffering, and before they enter joy. References: “It is finished” - John 19:30 “Joy set before” - Hebrews 12:2 “Everlasting joy/peace” - Revelation 21:4

[@Lornext]

Back when movies weren't just mindless crap to be consumed by the braindead masses.

[@rustyshackelford934]

Not about Seventh Seal, but most of the Studio Ghibli films are on HBOMax now lol for anyone who didn't know.

[@drthraxine]

Why would ppl think it's the end of the world in 1958 ? WW2 was over for 13 years and everything was hopefull and optimistic !

[@itsfresh0420]

This videos title and thumbnail is the reason I watched the movie. Don’t disappointing

[@billgalen9014]

Life is-strawberries and cream.

[@neon_light5608]

underestimated video

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

Watch the Aussie flick The Proposition(2005) matey

[@thefilminformer]

Will do!

[@shawn6669]

So, the 1957 is pretty far from the end of WWII. A better reference point for the feelings of the "end of the world" in 1957 would be the potential for Nuclear Annihilation during the cold war. The mid 50's was the time of the "Duck and Cover" Campaign. Just sayin.

[@shawn6669]

also, it's my personal feeling that Bergman is trying to tell us though the Character of Jof (as many philosophers have said) that the closest thing we'll find to spirituality is through the release of art and artists, rather than just a "there is spirituality without the church" pseudo deist thing. My 2c.

[@AndyEstonia]

what's the music at 4 minutes in? anyone know?

[@JRBeast-nw3xg]

That movie had me thinking about my life and Christian faith and that death is inescapable but only through God death is defeated. The main character loses his faith and joins with death and the performer guy and his wife and son survives because he didn’t want to deal with death because of his strong faith. I stand with Jof all the way. It’s a symbolic work of religious masterpiece.

[@AmateurReviews749]

I don't think it's loss of faith for the protagonist resulted in his death. I think he just wanted to find purpose/something before he could die and so he's stalling death. Perhaps when he diverts attention of death when the family with the child wants to leave the troupe, he has to lose chess inorder to divert attention of death. Before he could die he lead his people to the last place he can actually find solace, his wife. Well! That's what I think and I'm sure it's a bumbling mess. 😅

[@benquinneyiii7941]

Chess problem

[@numbersix8919]

I like your videos. Just want to say that Lutheranism is a form of Protestantism.

[@janedoe5229]

Come to think of it, the original Protestant church.

[@ilqar887]

I did not understand why everybody died except the family

[@thefilminformer]

My understanding is that Antonius metaphorically sacrifices his life for them by distracting death during their final session of chess. Death was going to win either way. But this act of selflessness allows them to escape from the forest.

[@danielprometheus9843]

@@thefilminformer that's not only reason, the artist is believes the faith without any doubt,he is innocent,he enjoys the art, he believes the faith without going to church and without participating in religious functions.

[@danielprometheus9843]

@@thefilminformer the only guy who sees mary and jesus and also death,it represents purity of the soul of the artist. Because the artist lives the life what others like Antonio's and other travellers searching the meaning of life.

[@janedoe5229]

As well as the Knight distracting death so that Jof's family could escape, we also know that the Black Death was spread by rats (hosting the fleas). Apparently, the rats were in the castle, so they all caught it. But Jof's family fled the town and stayed out in the countryside, and therefore, he stayed away from the rats.

[@Lopyswine]

too much compression on your mic.

[@timecapsule7842]

Jons threatens to rape her, the film is very explicit in demonstrating that Jons is not saving her. I don't understand your glorification of these character

[@malayneum]

its normal practice in the middle ages. women are spoils of war. a single young lady is not safe in a turmoil. Jons is a squire so he can offer protection to the mute girl. that also shows he have better morals than the blacksmiths wife.

[@kevinmichaelbergman8276]

Wow my own Family was the Murderers of all time but the Michael Bergman had everyone's spirits in his hell I was Their last Hope but I realized it and tricked them back I'm not Bergman I am Bill Cipher King of Germany Natasha my Wife Queen of Scotland Henry King of Rome

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

I wrestled with a spiritual dilemma until i became a atheist and now i`m happy and free.Best to be honest.

[@waynemcauliffe2362]

@Jeff Carlin Good to hear mate.Cheers

[@figlio6287]

Yep, you're free to go to eternal damnation any way you want. And denying God and his commandments is one sure way. Have fun filling in that void in your spiritual battle which you declared over.

[@johnherrington5808]

Jons also rapes the mute girl showing his discontent with the world. i think his discontent can be admired but i believe it is fair from being praisable

[@ivanacrnjac7883]

Everyone questions the existance of God.

[@suicideme]

hell yeah