Introduction
The Seventh Seal, directed by Ingmar Bergman (1967) set in Sweden during the black plague. Follows Knight Antonius Block (played by Max Von Sydow), who is on his way back to his wife after returning from the crusades; to his surprise, he finds a land full of death. Block encounters the embodiment of Death, who tells him his time is up; Block challenges Death to a game of chess with the condition that if he wins, he will leave him. This leads Block to battle his existentialism to find out the meaning of life. In this essay, I will argue that the most significant scene is when Death misleads Block to give away his chess strategy. This is the most crucial scene in the film as it shows the nature between faith and death and accepting that, and in turn, it makes the audience feel the emptiness Block is feeling, raising questions about faith and life.
Furthermore, I will explore how we can find meaning in the scene concerning critical themes in the film, such as existentialism, the problem of evil, The Hero’s journey and Religion. Throughout this essay, I will also be referring to the camera, lighting, and Mise-en-scene techniques, with notes on how these techniques reinforce the meaning of this scene and reflect on the film.
Main Paragraph
Block finds himself at a confession booth (Minute 18) in a Church reflecting on his situation. He starts to converse with a Priest, seeking guidance on the silence of God, stating, ‘I wish to confess as honestly as I can, but my heart is empty. He wishes to know why God does not show himself, confessing to the Priest. At this point, the Priest turns towards the camera as Block looks away, revealing to the audience that he is Death; this creates a sense of danger for the audience, leading them to worry for the Knight. Block, prompted by Death, states that he will happily die once he understands why God hides. Block discloses the moves he uses against Death in his game of chess. This is when Death reveals himself from under the hood. Block is taken aback and calls him a ‘traitor’, knowing that down the line, he will end up dying.
Second Paragraph
The Mise-en-scene in this shot is beautiful; the shadows contrast the Church lights creating a sense of distrust. The scene opens with an image of Block under a crucified idol of Jesus. The camera pans to a close-up of Block’s face, staring into the face of Jesus, and his eyes dart away. In this shot, Bergman shows us that Block is disgusted with the idea that there could be a God. He is struggling with a religious idea called The Problem of Evil, which Litch (2010: 188) elaborates on in her book about the meaning of The Seventh Seal. The Problem of Evil states: If a God existed, why would he allow evil in all his great power? Dougherty (2014: 11) supports this claim. Moreover, the following shot sequence reinforces this. It is a close-up of Block standing in a dim light next to the booth while Death stands in the light; This juxtaposition on-screen represents Block’s existentialism which comes from his problem with believing in God. Existentialism is a philosophy set to define a governing morality in a world where nothing matters; this is backed up by Webber (2018:10). The Mise-en-scene in this scene reminds us of the weight we put on ourselves to find meaning in life. At the same time, the camera angles reinforce emotion and suspense throughout. Lastly, it should be noted that Lighting is used to create tension and focus. Gillespie (2022: 2) establishes this in his article about lighting in Film. This quote from his article verifies this, ‘Hard shadow provides a dramatic contrast. You can use it to create silhouettes, focus the attention on lit elements, and define the foreground from the background.
Third Paragraph
These ideas explored in this scene all link outwardly to the rest of the film in the form of the Hero’s Journey, which was theorised by Campbell (1990:15). The confession scene is right at the start and embodies the refusal of the call. Block has not accepted that he will die yet and seeks wisdom in faith. Death, in this way, acts as a bridge to let Block know he will die and that even faith cannot save him. Compare this to the end of the film (Hour 1:32) when Block is greeted by Death for the last time, he stands under a window, and this time the lighting comes down on him as he prays even in the face of Death. He has finally come to terms with his existentialism and has found God again, and he can now die peacefully. This is like the supporting character Ben in ‘Leaving Las Vegas (1995). Ben accepts death, however, on the premise that he has been absorbed by the emptiness of having faith in nothing, while Block takes life for what it is and reconciles with God. Coming to terms with his death, Litch (2010: 200) acts as a foundation for this statement.
Conclusion
The confession booth scene stands out as the most crucial scene in the whole film as it explores the relationship we all have with death, the critical problems with Religion and how we must find meaning in life through faith, people, or ourselves to battle Existentialism. Through the Mise-en-scene, camera angles and lighting, this is all reinforced. Finally, I would like to draw attention to some talking points that I could not cover, how Blocks Allies all represent different views on death, how Death is unknowing and lastly, how the final scene represents willingly accepting death. Hopefully, you will investigate these points as they are a great premise, along with the other points, to find meaning in your life and overcome the fear of death.
Bibliography
Webber, Jonathan. 2018. Rethinking Existentialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Dougherty, Trent. 2014. The Problem of Evil (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Litch, Mary M. 2010. Philosophy through the film (New York; London: Routledge).
Campbell, Joseph. 1990 The Hero’s Journey (New York: HarperCollins).
Gillespie, John. 2022. ‘The Importance of lighting in videography and film making, Gillespie Production, 1 – 5.
Filmography
The Seventh Seal. Ingmar Bergman (Tartan*, 1957).
Leaving Las Vegas. Mike Figgis (Studiocanal ,1990).
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