Inescapable Death, Eternal Hope

The whole movie is very dull, especially for someone like me who has no interest in religion. In the beginning, the oppressive sky, the lone goshawk, the tumbling tide, the weary knight, and passages from the Bible set the film's dark tone. At this time, the European continent was shrouded in the haze of the Black Death. Countless people die every day, and the fear of death also disorients people. Knight Black, after experiencing the Crusades personally, was completely disillusioned with his once beautiful ideals, and also had doubts about his own beliefs, and began to search for the true meaning of life. At this time, the god of death appeared and wanted to take his life. Black was not reconciled and proposed to delay the time by playing chess with the god of death. For the rest of the time, he met the blacksmith and his cheating wife, the happy Jove family, the witch who was accused of "adultery with the devil" and was burned to death, and the family who died of the plague The lonely woman, on the way, he understood the true meaning of life, and pretended to overturn the chessboard to attract the attention of the god of death, thus saving the Jove family.

In fact, there is no god of death in the Bible. Director Bergman just replaced death with a person, instead of the plague that could take a person's life at any time. In the face of the powerful God of Death, no one can escape its clutches. Even Black, who has the opportunity to play chess with the God of Death, will not be able to win the game in the end and will die. As for the others, whether it is a cynical hero, or a blacksmith and his wife, they all danced the dance of death and walked towards the end of their lives under the guidance of the scythe of the god of death. Only the kind-hearted and pure Jove family can cross the storm and see the beauty of the clouds and the sunrise. What is the meaning? I think there are two explanations. One is that both Jove and his wife have a pure heart. They are pure and enthusiastic, and the beautiful things in everyone's nature have been shown in them. More importantly, they have a passion for life, a celebration of life, a belief that every day is good and will be "better day by day." And Jove can see scenes that ordinary people can't see, which can be regarded as a kind of "reward" from God to him. Another explanation is: death is eternal, human life, human feelings, human beliefs... everything will eventually go to extinction. However, human reproduction is also eternal, and it is always one step ahead of death. In this way, life can continue, civilization can develop, and mankind can have hope. Going back to the film, the Joves have a child who has just turned one year old. It is precisely because they have a future and are the hope of mankind that they are free from the clutches of death and continue to live happily.

There are also many allusions in the film, such as the names of the Jove family: Jove, Mia, Michelle, which are the metaphors of Joseph, Maria and the little Jesus Messiah in the religious paintings of the Renaissance. In addition, there is the lonely girl whose whole family died of the Black Death. She has few lines, and she has a staring expression throughout, with surprise and fear in her eyes, and it was only when the god of death finally came that she said "It is finished", which is also the last word of Jesus before his death.

"The Seventh Seal" is commented on "The 10 Movies Men Must Watch": "I dare not say that I understand the "Seventh Seal", but if I want to watch a movie before I die, I will definitely Choose "The Seventh Seal"." Likewise, I dare not say that I understand it, but I understand that when everything is "It is finished", only hope can survive.

View more about The Seventh Seal reviews