An Odd Path to Success

Title: An Odd Path to Success

Name: Elizabeth Moll

Personal Response to Film:

 The Seventh Seal directed and written by Ingmar Bergman holds the key to allegoric success. That is, if you’re able to actually keep your eyes open the entire movie. I could not. I learned more about The Seventh Seal from reading about it, than I did from watching it. It is not particularly obscene or offensive. In fact, the 1957 film has obvious thematic differences than modern philosophical films; nevertheless, it has a strange way of making me cringe. Parts of the film, like when Jof was forced to dance like a bear at the inn, had me involuntarily looking away. The weirdness extruded from the film on many occasions in which I was unable to psychologically cope. This all being said, there is meticulous attention to detail that Bergman was able to portray to us regardless of its low-budget making.

                Bergman gave us a film that had depth. Sometimes, people get it; sometimes, people don’t. I’m not sure which of those people I actually am. The film was weird, but there’s so much there, its hard to decipher if those moments of eccentricity are genius or are just odd, without any other good way of putting it. It wasn’t until after I read analysis on the film, that I was able to make any sense of significant references made throughout. I only had my feelings from the film to work from. For instance, I knew right away that Jof and Mia we’re different from other characters in the film. They had a sense of true love that other characters didn’t have. That portion made me think about what it means to have love in life. When the knight is exploring for answers about faith, life, and death, there is this isolation and emptiness in him. As like other characters in the film, he searches for meaning.

Many characters like Jons, the blacksmith, the blacksmith’s wife, Jonas, the mute women, all have something they can’t quite put together to make meaning from their lives. In that, they are all missing real love. The kind of love Jof and Mia have. Yet, the film is way deeper than some love story, and Jof and Mia clearly have a different meaning within the film. I had no idea really what that was, but with all the other religious symbols and allegoric references, I knew they had an important point to prove on the odd path to Bergman's success.

Summary to Critical Article:

                Norman N. Holland (1959) wrote a wired critical analysis he titled “’The Seventh Seal’: The Film as Iconography”. In this analysis, Holland parted with outside sources and focused the bulk of it on seeing the film for exactly how it is. A step-by-step examination showed how there is deep biblical meaning throughout the film. As Holland (1959) put it, “Bergman is going beyond the Totentanz, trying to answer the further question: If death is the only certainty, where is God?” (p. 267). Holland suggests that the question is exactly what the Knight, Antonius Block, is searching for. Upon that search, and his masterful game play with Death itself, Antonius happens upon many viewpoints. One that Holland points out is how the townspeople blame God for their misfortune, particularly the black plague that plays a paralleling story to the film. Then Holland is confronted with the religious pressed crucifixion of the witch. Then, above all, Antonius meets Jof, Mia and their baby. Who Holland says is a straight and clear reference to the Holy family (Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus). Holland makes simple of the multifaceted film into a religious journey for both the main character, Antonius, and viewer. By implying that Bergman laid the answers out for us, Holland (1959) writes, “the crusader’s quest gives us the answer. Though the knight himself seems to never learn it – or to learn that he has learned it” (p. 267).

Response to Critical Article:

                Although I’m flattered by Norman N. Hollands suggestion that I as a viewer knew all the ‘obvious’ answers and religious allegory, I’m afraid to say I had really no clue. I enjoyed reading Hollands article, if for nothing else, it allowed me the opportunity to understand the film without having to figure out all the answers for myself (even though he thought it was apparent).  However, Holland did gift me with what I was looking for: A clear religious reference for Jof and Mia. Holland (1959) wrote, “The Seventh Seal finds God for us – or at least another certainty than Death – not in the wormwood-and-gall institutional religion of suffering and crucifixion, but in the simple life of a strolling actor and juggler named Jof (Joseph), his girl-wife Mia (Mary), and their baby” (p. 268). This confirmed my original feeling that Bergman created Jof and Mia different from other characters. Holland wrote a solid article portraying exactly how Jof in particular was easily referenced to the Holy family. Such as, “Jof is the only one who can see the allegorical figure of Death” (Holland,

1959, p. 268). That is, besides Antonius. Once Holland points that out, a lot more of the film came together for me. I could easily see how Antonius not only saved them, but protected them and ultimately gave his life for them.

                Holland really gave a basic overview of the many religious references in the film. I’m grateful to be able to go back, after reading his article, and pick up on those things that he cited. Holland didn’t go much beyond that, which I really appreciate. Since the films complexity goes deeper than what Holland wrote about, it gives the viewer the opportunity to discover more on his/her own. Even though I have a hard time getting through the whole film, I would take more time studying the chess game or even the ocean that hints as a symbol throughout the film.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:

                Norman N. Holland’s 1959 article viewed The Seventh Seal with a formalist eye. The structure of Hollands article was formulated around the plot of the film. This was a key indicator that he used a formalist approach in his article. At the same time, he used the plot to drive a unified idea around the religious allegory and symbols used. A great deal of time was spent on what Holland believed to be writer/director Bergman’s secret meaning that Holland charitably exposed for his readers. This gave viewers a meaningful foundation for watching or re-watching the film.

Film Analysis: 

                At times, certain scenes of puzzling films will pull together several elements to create meaning for the viewer. In The Seventh Seal, this type of scene was during the final chess game between Antonius and Death. A few important elements were combined in this scene that helped make sense of a lot of questions leading up to this point. Right before this part of the scene, Jof found Antonius and Death playing chess, then rushed Mia and their baby to get away. Antonius knew Jof had found them, but because Death was facing the opposite direction, he did not. The scene starts with several over the shoulder straight cuts between Death and Antonius. This is in silence. Nothing but the narration provides sound for the viewer. The focus at this point is on narrative, rather than any elaborate thematic style. What made this scene great was the intricate details that Bergman allowed the viewer to participate in.

The elements being pulled together here are the allegoric Jof, Mia and baby, the symbolic chess game and the rescuer, Antonius, who needed to make meaning of his life and did just that within this scene. As mentioned before, the scene starts with the two playing chess, the game that is literally life or death for Antonius, and an opportunity to out-wit Death (whether Antonius actually wins the game, or not). Death is convinced Antonius is hiding something. Then as Antonius commits to saying there is nothing to hide, Death ironically says that nothing escapes him, then asks Antonius if he's afraid. This happens moments before Antonius decisively knocks pieces of the chess game down, allowing for Death to cheat when replacing them. What is interesting, is that immediately before Antonius knocks the pieces over, he briefly looks up. This moment of slight head lift is the decisive moment where Antonius decides not to be afraid; therefore, giving his life for Jof, Mia and the baby. The next moment Antonius looks up, beyond Death, is when the camera takes a subjective point of view to see the wagon pulling away, out of the woods. His plan worked.