Before I start off this post (my first in quite some time, sorry)I should probably mention that I missed a day of the Seventh Seal due to absence and I (forgive me) fell asleep during part of Signs (due to sleepiness, not lack of entertainment), so anything I say is obviously due to scrutiny based on that alone.
But anyway, this is my second time seeing both movies, and I'm almost disappointed that my opinion hasn't changed for either. I still think The Seventh Seal is brilliant and I still think Signs is simply entertaining but nothing truly spectacular, or even slightly spectacular for that matter. What I saw of Signs, excluding my 20 minute nap, kept me entertained but not fully engaged, and I felt the entire movie was too overdone for my taste. Meanwhile, the Seventh Seal remains one of my favorite movies, and resonated very deeply with me. I don't consider myself a hard-core existentialist, and I do believe there is, if not a God, some sort of "higher power", so it's interesting that I responded more to the existentialist movie. Maybe it was the cinematography...
Really though, I think I realized what made the Seventh Seal work for me and Signs not. I felt that the ending of Signs was far too contrived, convenient and, well, happy. It seems to assure the audience "don't worry, things may seem rough, but everything happens for a reason. God is looking out for you." And this is the message that sends Graham back to religion? I'm not sure I buy that completely. Feel free to disagree of course, I honestly don't want to insult anyone and maybe I've listened to too much George Carlin in my life, but the only thing I could think of in the last minutes of the film was "If God supposedly has this grand, master plan, and all the bad stuff that happen, like wives and mothers being pinned by a truck, is simply part of this plan and has to happen to reach some end result, well then what's the use of praying to begin with? " I feel as though that message of everything happens for a reason and is part of a plan seems almost anti organized religion, and the fact that its used in an opposite way just feels fake to me.
Meanwhile,the Seventh Seal never tries to hide or sugarcoat the fact that bad things happen every day for seemingly no reason. It never sings us a lullaby the way Signs does, and yet conversely, never says conclusively that there is no God. I find this fitting, since we can't know whether there is or isn't a God, so why should a filmmaker pretend to? My favorite scene in the movie both times I've seen it has been the Wild Strawberries scene. While death is clearly imminent in the background of the entire scene (a symbol of death, not the figure), I just get pulled into the, for lack of more eloquent word, loveliness of the entire exchange. The scene feels like a welcome rest from an otherwise extremely heavy movie, but it affected me on a much deeper level. Directly after this scene,Block plays his last match with Death, and if memory serves me correctly I believe he's even smiling. The climax, as we've discussed, happens here, when Mary and Joseph and their non-Jesus baby escape. While Block loses his chess match, as we all must do, he wins on a much deeper level, and this is why: by forming meaningful relationships with other human beings and ultimately affecting the lives of others, his life has not gone to waste. While we can never know the secrets of life and death, we are given the (in my opinion, not necessarily the movies)gift of life, so we must find our own ways to make it meaningful here on Earth. This is a message that I find much more true to life than that of Signs. While the Seventh Seal is clearly a movie about Death, literally and philosophically, we shouldn't forget that it is also, subsequently even, a movie about life.
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Very true comments on both films Shiran and I agree with your comments on the Seventh Seal much more. I like that you point out the Block was content and even smiling in that scene. Also, when Death asked if the respite had helped because Block wanted to do one meaningful thing in life, Block responds, "Yes", clearly showing that his life was more fulfilled by meeting these people and going through their experiences and also saving their lives.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment about how since we can't know if there is a God, a filmmaker shouldn't prentend to either. I think the fact that The Seventh Seal addresses the questions surrounding the existence of an afterlife without answering them is one of the reasons I enjoyed the movie so much. It doesn't tell you what to think, it just asks you TO think.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, but I've come to expect nothing less from you. Another student who liked the wild strawberry scene best. Interesting. Actually, you're mistaken about BLock losing the match at that point. he loses later on, in the forest. But death does intimate that he's coming for them all should Block lose the match.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the film being about life as much as death. Perhaps the most powerful line is spoken by Block when he embraces fully the challenge of living fully while in the full knowledge of death's inevitability. "This is my hand. I can feel it. The blood pulses through my veins. The sun is high in the sky, and I, I, Antonius Block am playing chess with death."
Very nice post! I think that The Seventh Seal also spoke to me much more than Signs which seemed somewhat artificial. I really like what you said about Antonius Block winning on a deeper level. We can really agonize all we want over the existence of God, but it does not mean that we cannot find meaning at present in our lives such as in this case where Block helps other people.
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