THE SEVENTH SEAL truly is a remarkable accomplishment in the world of cinema. Jöns's description of love as "the blackest of all plagues" is a quote that will forever be engraved in my mind. Almost every line spoken is, in one way or another, daunting and unforgettable. For me, the dialogue was definitely the high point of the film, as it was extremely thought-provoking and carefully constructed throughout. Their commentary on such matters is often dryly funny and always brilliant, continuously and effectively challenging our perceptions of the world around us. In Antonius's search for answers, he encounters a variety of very unique characters, each with their own outlook on life, death, faith, fear and love. No matter how skillfully we plan our moves or how determined we are to win, we can never beat Death. In the end, however, Death is a much better player than any of us, and though he may humor some of his opponents by letting them think that they have the advantage, the end result is inevitable: Death always wins. Bergman uses this allegory not just to personify death, but to illustrate the lengths man will go to in order to avoid it. The delicately crafted story centers around a 14th century knight named Antonius Block and his ongoing game of chess with a shadowy, hooded figure: Death. Its deep acuity and haunting imagery is powerful enough to jar even passive viewers out of their complacency and force them to examine their own reality. THE SEVENTH SEAL could very well serve as sort of a manifesto for existentialism. In Ingmar Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL, these mysteries are not only questioned they are dissected, splayed, and scrutinized. And while many films question these mysteries, they seldom provide any real insight into the world of the unknown. The mysteries of religion and death have long been a popular focus among artists of all media, including film.
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