The Seventh Seal

THE GIST: Disillusioned by what he witnessed during the Crusades he just partook in and by the widespread misery caused by the plague he finds on his way back home, Antonius Block, a Swedish Knight, has concluded that God does not exist. Visited by a personified Death, which tells him his time has come, Block challenges him to a game of chess in an attempt to buy himself more time, and perhaps salvation.

The Seventh Seal is one of those sacred cows of world cinema, from lauded director Ingmar Bergman, that I failed to appreciate.

In my opinion, a literal chess game to the death isn't dynamic enough to hold the audience's attention during what feels like a philosophical discussion about the existence of God rather than a motion picture.

There is also plenty of imagery that I found confusing, complicating the task of figuring out how every piece fits in the whole, therefore adding puzzlement to generalized boredom.

A very young Max von Sydow stars in the lead, flanked by Bengt Ekerot as Death, and they both do as good a job as can be expected.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I'm a cinema lover who has no problem watching foreign films, in different languages, in black and white, and/or that require you to use your brain more than your eyes and ears, but watching this was just plain dreadful. Blessed be the short runtime.

Grade: 2