As Bergman's representative work, the film tells the story of the knight who was favored by the god of death after the Crusades. In order to fight, he played against the god of death along the way. Along the way, the knight met the blacksmith couple and the circus couple. Under the influence of him, he constantly questioned the existence of God and the meaning of belief. Finally, he gradually realized the nothingness of God. In the end, only the god of death greeted human beings. The meaning of human life is to find love. In the end, the knight saved the loving circus couple. The god of death was set aside to let them escape, and those who remained were judged by the god of death. The film's nihilistic attitude towards God and cherishing of love fully represent Bergman's personal thoughts and are the consistent themes in his creations.
The film reflects the emptiness of religion and God in many places. There is no devotion to God in the nihilistic and fearful eyes of the witch before her death; the panoramic shot of the scene where the ascetic once paraded, the procession came in a mighty manner, and the land remained the same when it left, implying the author's attitude towards the nihilistic attitude of the religious team; The knight questioned the existence of God in the church, but it was the god of death who listened to him, which ironically reflected that "God does not exist, but the god of death is always with him"; the priest representing the religion died in struggle; in the end, the knight and his party Humans are also favored by God, while the escaped circus couple has no problem, implying that their deaths were caused by real factors such as the plague in the castle, and have nothing to do with God.
The film highlights the author's cherishing of love. The circus couple lived happily together. The wife entertained the knight with wild strawberries and milk. The knight temporarily forgot to think about God and death in this worldly enjoyment. It can be seen that the enjoyment and pleasure of life are what people call "heaven" The circus couple sang and played on the grass with a family of three, very happy, in sharp contrast to the dark society that was filled with plagues, wars, and religious struggles at that time, the knight understood that the meaning of life is to enjoy love.
The film is very religious and contains rich European history, which made it very difficult for me to watch and understand. However, because the director lived in a religious family in Europe since he was a child, he has a deep understanding of European history and religion. The author satirizes the radical and dark social status of religious believers by showing religion, expressing that he believes that "God is silent" so that " God is dead" and that "man can create meaning through love".
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