The Seventh Seal (NR, 2007)

common sense media says

Symbolism-filled classic a tough sell for kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that while there are elements of the mystical here (and Death himself is a character), this classic will disappoint viewers expecting something like a horror-fantasy movie. It's wordy and philosophical, and it concerns the search for God and the existential dread that He may not exist. Traditional church-based Christianity is scorned by some characters. This film is not to be confused with the Demi Moore horror film The Seventh Sign, especially.

Positive messages: A truly chivalrous knight, Antonius, is tortured by his doubts over the existence of God, but he still strives to forestall Death -- ultimately, as a sort of sacrifice so others under his protection can escape. Though other characters are deeply flawed -- scalawags, cynics, adulterers, drunkards -- it's the devoted characters who escape. Antonius' cynical squire talks trash about religion, love, and his own wife (whom he assumes is dead and casually takes a village woman as a replacement), though even he strives to do right, in a strictly secular way.
Violence: Brutality threatened, but rarely any shown directly, except once with a man slashed across the face. Religious fanatics whip themselves in a procession. A relatively mild scene of a dazed girl (allegedly tortured), accused of witchcraft, facing execution by being burned at the stake. A scene with an eyeless, decayed corpse.
Sex: A character sings a bawdy song, and there's an adulterous affair, but the serious stuff is offscreen.
Language: "Hell" used in the dialogue.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Characters get drunk in a tavern.

More on The Seventh Seal

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the many layers of symbolism, parable, and meaning here. Ask kids what parallels they see in Ingmar Berman's Middle Ages shown here -- the plagues, the fears, the predictions that it's the "end times" -- and today, when some predict pretty much the same thing. Is there a proof of God or salvation after all in the movie's plot? Do you agree with Bergman that artists and actors are closer to the divine than the priests and the heroic knights? For Harry Potter fans, how is the character Death the same or different than the one depicted in the "Deathly Hallows" story within the final book?

What's the story?

What's the story?
After returning home to Scandinavia, Crusades-fighting knight Antonius (Max Von Sydow) is met by a pale-faced black-robed man, none other than Death. Not at all startled, Antonius challenges Death to a chess match, with his own survival the prize if he wins. The game takes place throughout the film's episodic storyline. We learn that Antonius is secretly in spiritual agony, his faith struggling against a violent world, filled with superstition, plague, and doom. He didn't find God while fighting in the Holy Land. In fact, Antonius learns that the clergyman who persuaded him to leave his wife for the Crusades is now a wretched excuse for a human being. En route to his long-neglected wife and castle, Antonius accompanies and protects fellow vagabonds, chiefly a small, fun-loving acting troupe run by a young husband and wife, Joseph and Mia.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal concerns the monumental theme of a painful search for God, and has contributed some immortal moments to cinema. Joseph claims to see visions, like the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, and Bergman seems to be suggesting if there is any God at all, the artists and creative types (including filmmakers?) are nearer the truth than the usual suspects. Characters grumble about the perilous times they live in, and many themes of The Seventh Seal, the wrestlings with religious doubt, are meaningful for the present, as Bergman intended.

Kids who are into medieval re-enactments and Renaissance fairs might be persuaded to see this. Harry Potter fans who notice a connection between this and the final book where Death plays a role may also raise an eyebrow. But it's still a tough sell.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Criterion Collection
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Cast: Bibi Andersson, Inga Gill, Max von Sydow
Genre: Classic
Run time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release: September 7, 2007
DVD release: January 26, 1999
MPAA Rating: NR

This review was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

who3697cares
teen, 18 years old
 
Ingmar Bergman doesn't make movies that are overdone He distances himself enough to keep our interest, make the films feel realistic, and seem genius at the same time.

halo127
adult
 
Great movie. A crusader battles death in a match of chess. A woman has an affair with an actor and when the husband finds out he repeatedly says he is going to kill her. some medieval language, and a little violence. Beating, men march through a town during the Black death and flogg themselves (nonexplicit) and a burning of a teenager (offscreen) who is believed to be the cause of the plague. Great for older teens, also for younger kids although they want understand.

4kidshater
teen, 14 years old
 
A very great swedish classic movie. A very great movie.
A very good movie. It's sorta graphic due to the face getting cut scene, but is appropriate for 12+. It's a good triumphs over evil movie. I like better in swedish(like norway as a 7th country) i like it. I rated this an Austin review collectors series

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