Anatomy of a Scene: Chess with death in ‘The Seventh Seal’
In 1957, Ingmar Bergman released what many consider to be his magnum opus, a stunning swords-and-shields medieval fantasy film which questions life, God, death and, most importantly, fate. The Seventh Seal has come to stand the test of time as one of foreign cinema’s most stunning achievements and is a triumph for Swedish cinema. Featuring a young Max Von Sydow as the knight Antonius Block, returning from the crusades overseas, he finds Sweden ravaged by the Black Plague and the country and its inhabitants questioning their faith because of it. The country had sent so many of their young men to go fight for Christianity, and now they fear that God has turned his back on them.
Anytime Death appears on screen, emerging from the shadows each time to claim another victim, you feel you are experiencing peak cinema. It’s a true achievement how Bergman makes the audience feel whenever it’s Death’s scene. As he appears so rarely in the film and speaks very little, he has a long-lasting impact which makes the narrative more engaging and hooks the audience to Antonius’ story. Death is played by Bengt Ekerot, who casts a slightly lighter-hearted feel over your traditional Grim Reaper (the film exposes you to much of the art of the century depicting Death too). Ekerot leaves a firm impression on you from his performance, and certain moments remain unforgettable, much like the final scene at the dinner table.
Antonius Block, the Crusader knight, sees Death clearly before him on the beach at the start of the film. Death is ready to take him as his own. Antonius is frightened by the sight of Death, but it does not seem so apparent at first, but this is mainly due to arrogance. He acknowledges that “Death has walked by his side” for a while when their dialogue begins. It is a shame to him that after returning home from the Crusades unscathed, he finds his own death right on the shores of his homeland.
He thinks, cleverly, that he can trick Death and offers him a game of chess. He recalls through paintings and songs that Death is a fan of the game. Antonius proposes that should he win, he can live and go about his life as normal. If Death wins, however, he is to go with him. Death understands the power of fate and happily agrees to this. The playing of the game opens up a metaphor for the two battling themes in the film: free will vs fate. The chess scenes, of which there are a few, add a huge amount of suspense to the movie. Several times Death arrives out of the blue, the chessboard set up exactly as they left it, and they resume their game. When he takes Antonius’ queen, which comes as a shock for the knight, Death dryly laughs: “Nothing escapes me. No one escapes from me”. It is within three scenes in total that Death checkmates Antonius – showing the utter pointlessness of the game in the first place.
Another way in which Death manages to prove the futility of Antonius’ fight against his own fate is when he manages to trick Antonius into revealing the chess move he has up his sleeve. Antonius is mortified to see his move exposed by Death. But the fate of the game was already announced on the shore that day. Antonius never had a chance to change the fate that befell him.
A strong underlying message, as dark as it may be, is that death is unavoidable; you must embrace death. The chess scene, though, does pose several meaningful debates, such as God’s absence and the doubting of faith, mortality and immortality, and finally, the meaning of our existence. Antonius dedicated his life to spreading God’s word, for him to arrive home and die almost immediately on his return. Parallel to Antonius’ plight, the entire country is currently struggling with the Black Plague – something they believe is a punishment from God.
The game of chess is personified, through its two opposite opponents, as a clash between free will and fate as well faith and atheism. With Antonius, we have a strong, intelligent, philosophical knight who represents free will. Opposite him is Death, who is cool, calm and collected. Here he represents fate. But despite the best efforts of Antonius, his opponent is far too formidable and far too powerful. As Death checkmates him, he allows him one last “meaningful deed”. In the striking final minutes of the film, Death gatecrashes his reunion with Antonius, his wife and his friends. Bergman shoots the final image of the film simply with Death dragging Antonius and his friends up the hill to their fates, a moment predetermined since the opening minute of the film.
