With The Seventh Seal, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman cried out to the heavens, and then to the depths. He died half a century later, still waiting to hear a response. This film lives on, remembered more widely than any other work from his distinguished career, due to its stark imagery and its direct treatment of a subject as universal today as it was during the Middle Ages. Death is inescapable. Bergman dramatizes the human struggle with mortality through the story of a medieval knight, Antonius Block, playing chess against the Grim Reaper. His opponent is unbeatable, and even the most cunning tactics will only delay the end-game as long as possible. The film’s setting allows Bergman to emphasize the desperate follies that a society will embrace in its attempts to outmaneuver Death. The Bishop (organized religion) offers the empty promise of immortality. Knights will wage murderous crusades for the glory of their god. Waves of Pawns will be sacrificed (here, the torture and burning of heretics) to win divine favor. Even the strongest castle fortress, represented by the Rook, provides no defense against the Black Death (through the bubonic plague or some other form). Seemingly, the most sensible strategy for any man is to devote himself to his Queen, to enjoy the pleasures of life while it lasts.
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