Film title:
The Seventh Seal
Director:
Ingmar Bergman
Starring:
Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand
Certificate:
PG
Returning crusaders, travelling performers and village folk meet during the time of the plague and are forced, in the midst of death, to consider the meaning of life. The Seventh Seal is essentially a road movie; the journey towards a knight's estate holding the plot together as those on the journey grow as individuals - whether they survive the plague is less important than coming to terms with their existential doubts. Mixed with almost Shakespearian bawd and slapstick, this masterpiece isn't all doom and gloom – well, it isn't all gloom. Containing some of cinema's most celebrated images, notably the scenes where the grim reaper plays chess with the knight (von Sydow), Bergman's classic certainly deserves its place on any 'films to see before you die' list. Just make sure it's not the last film you see before you die – unless you're in an agnostic mood, or fancy a game of chess. [Kieran Westbrook]