Unique masterpiece.

"I shall remember this moment: the silence, the twilight, the bowl of strawberries, the bowl of milk. Your faces in the evening light. Mikael asleep, Jof with his lyre. I shall try to remember our talk. I shall carry this memory carefully in my hands as if it were a bowl brimful of fresh milk. It will be a sign to me, and a great sufficiency."

Ingmar Bergman put his country on the cinematic map with The Seventh Seal; an atmospheric, peculiar, eerie, ambiguous production that is a surreal masterpiece of the highest order. Words cannot accurately describe the appeal of this movie. Needless to say the film is certainly not for all tastes. It requires a viewer who is patient and whose attention span is not limited to mainly tolerating fast-paced films.

The Seventh Seal moves at a snail pace and is strictly for those who can easily endure rich, perplexing world cinema. I will admit that I quickly grew tired of reading subtitles for each line of dialogue. Of course this is not a negative downfall. Foreign countries would say precisely the same thing about an American film. Foreign filmmakers should be given the opportunity to craft a film in their native language and I of course respect this.

The film opens as a disillusioned knight named Antonius Block, played by Max von Sydow, is returning from the crusades in the 14th century when he is confronted by Death (Ekerot) who casually tells him that his time is up.

However, Antonius is not willing to give up so easily and challenges Death to a game of chess for his life. While the chess match is still happening, Antonius can live. And if he checkmates Death then it could mean a significantly longer life indeed. Alas, Antonius travels across a country now stricken by the Black Death (i.e. the plague) in search of a concrete sign that would implicate that God really exists. No matter where he goes, Death is always following in his footsteps.

The film is both elegant and extensively atmospheric. Most of the entrancing panorama we're presented with is apocalyptic and filled with dread. The black and white photography further retains this quality. As the characters travel across the land they find devastated villages and unnerving forest scenery.

The film is also rich in religious themes that also pose a question to the viewer; does God really exist? The final image also raises questions about what occurs after death. We see a string of silhouetted figures dancing with arms outstretched as they are about to enter the unknown.

The Seventh Seal is also a film that is heavily ambiguous. What does each character symbolise? The audience is left to draw their own conclusions after the credits have rolled. Not many films similar to this have the eminence of extensive ambiguity, chiefly in a religious sense. The film has been widely regarded as one of the world's most important pieces of cinema. There is little mystery surrounding this.

The performances weren't excessively engaging. There are some pretty distasteful characters, but they all appear to be allegorical (similar to the film as a whole, in that sense). Max von Sydow had the hardest job of pulling off such an important character. He adds intensity to the game of chess and he is quite enthralling.

Director Ingmar Bergman did a fantastic job with this film. His direction will keep one mesmerised for the film's duration. It moves at a slow pace, granted, however the classy direction allows something interesting to appear on screen quite frequently.

The Seventh Seal is a film that won't be appreciated by all tastes. It falls into the category of 'world cinema' so expect to be reading subtitles the whole way through. I guess if you're too lazy to read subtitles then this would be one to leave on the shelf.

The Seventh Seal is captivating and surreal, as well as dark, disturbing and grim. Its sheer indistinctness alone makes it worthy of a screening.

9/10