Thursday, October 29, 2009

the seventh seal



i like how that videos called a trailer, but it spells out the whole movie for you. oh well, knowing what happens in a movie shouldn't affect the experience of watching it. like i've said before if the ending/plot twist is the only thing a movies got going for it, then it's not worth watching.

okay so this isn't really a scary of halloweenish movie, but it was at the top of my list and i didn't want to push it down any further. and hey it involves death, and witches being burned at the stake! it's a rather tragic and heart wrenching scene sure, but still.

i like bergman, way back in the mists of 1999, i was the only freshman in the "film as literature" class, basically we watched movies, briefly talked about them, and had to write a paragraph about what they meant. so yeah, we mostly just watched movies. it was a class taught by one of the coaches, it was odd, but fun. we watched the classics, citizen kane, casablanca, the maltese falcon, white heat, star wars, 2001, and the ingmar bergman film wild strawberries. i was the only one in the class that liked it. it was a slacker class, they complained about all the black and white movies, and this one especially because it was foreign. i loved it though, it was beautiful and odd, like all the best things in life. and while the class was mostly a joke, it did teach me how to appreciate movies.

to the movie at hand, i loved it, the characters were incredible, they were all unique and likable, well except perhaps for the guy dies from the plague, but hey, at least he gets what was coming to him. although i suppose all of them do die...
anyway.
it's hard to talk about something i love, it's much easier to pick apart things i hate.

i think the scenes with the witch were my favourite, how they were unafraid to talk to her, talking trash to her guards, and their muses of rescuing her. her eyes were intense and frightening, she was just a poor kid. damn emotional i have to say.

the squire was by far the best character, singing his goofy songs, brave and rude, a bit of a dick, but generally just a typical guy. not that the knight was by any means a bad or uninteresting character, these characters are so well thought out and completely defined, it makes me sad that all movies can't be this good.

this movie is also brilliant because it offers no answers, you die, that's about it, i love this exchange:
Block: And you will reveal your secrets?
Death: I have no secrets.
Block: So you know nothing?
Death: I am unknowing.
chilling.

it's not all dark and gloomy, there's plenty of funny moments and witty exchanges.
and i just love the concept of a knight coming home from the crusades going on an existential quest.

this was another of my favourite moments in the movie, as it's how i feel about some of the most beautiful moments of my life.
Block: I shall remember this hour of peace: the strawberries, the bowl of milk, your faces in the dusk. Mikael asleep, Jof with his lute. I shall remember our words, and shall bear this memory between my hands as carefully as a bowl of fresh milk.
[He drinks from the bowl.]
Block: And this will be a sign, and a great content.
also i now get the reference in the death coming to dinner scene from the meaning of life, good times.

five out of five


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