Check Mate
Name: Jane Kasukonis
Personal
Response to Film: This
film was dark and disturbing, yet thought provoking. It had an overall feeling of despair throughout,
but sprinkled with a little comic and uplifting relief. The black and white hues were appropriate for
the film and increased its dark emotion.
I found it difficult to fully grasp all of the symbolisms and meaning of
film due to the foreign language and subtitles.
I had to focus on reading the script instead of paying attention to the
rest of the film elements. After
watching it a second time, I caught a few more elements I hadn’t noticed
before, but it was still challenging. I
do not think I would have watched this movie on my own accord, and I’m afraid I
don’t think I will watch it again after this assignment.
Summary
of Critical Article: I
chose to read The Seventh Seal,
written by Peter Palmer. This article
does an excellent job of identifying the different characters and what they
symbolize in the film. It discusses the
overall question of the film, is there life in death and death in life? It describes finding meaning in a
plague-filled, meaningless life. The
chess game is an example given in this article about the meaning of life and
the presence of death. “The game of
chess, symbolizes existence viewed within the perspective of death. The white
against the black - white moves first as the act of creation necessarily
precedes destruction. If the player
recognizes that life's opponent is death and meaninglessness, he may use his
skill (the gift of life) to the best of his ability; the game may become the
means by which man can perform a meaningful act.” (Palmer, p.3) This is evidence of Palmer’s analysis of the
chess game and what it represents for the film.
Response
to Critical Article: I
enjoyed reading this article and it gave me a better grasp on the meaning of
this film. Palmer explained what the
Seventh Seal is in the book for Revelations and this gave me a better basis of
understanding the film. Palmer also used
specific quotes as evidence to support his statements about symbolism and
character descriptions. For example, the
author uses these quotes from the film to support the symbolism of the chess
game and what it means for the knight.
Knight: “No one can live in the face of death, knowing that
all is nothingness.”
Death: “Most people never reflect about either death or the
futility of life.”
Knight: “But one day they will have to stand at that last
moment of life and look toward the darkness.” (Palmer, p. 4-5)
The knight is struggling through this movie to find the
meaning of his life again. These quotes
show the knight coming to terms with death and finding meaning to his life
before joining death. It supports how
the chess game is essential for the knight to find meaning again to his life
and how playing chess with death gives him that opportunity.
Consideration
of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts: A critical framework to
analyze this film is the psychoanalytic approach. This approach focuses on the parallels between
the film and the author’s inner conflicts and issues. The
Seventh Seal is a dark and morbid film, and Bergman may have had doubts in
faith and finding meaning to life. The battle
of the film may have reflected the struggle of the author in his own life. Symbolism is also an important aspect of a
psychoanalytic analysis. The chess game
was a major symbol of the film and showed the struggle between Knight Antonius
Block and Death.
Film
Analysis: This
film used sound to set the stage for the ominous emotion that dominates the
set. Music was not a major element, but
more natural sounds. For example, in the
beginning scene the waves crashing on the shore were the main sound. Environmental sounds such as birds, thunder,
wind, and horse’s hooves on the ground were all elements to portray the reality
of the film. Another film element used
was close-up shots. This was used with
many of the characters, specifically Antonius and Death. The close-up shots are used to make the
viewer feel uncomfortable and personal with the character. Two-shot technique was used for Jof and Mia,
since they were mainly together throughout the film. Two-shot technique was also used when showing
Antonius and Death together, for example when they were in the church and
Antonius was confessing to Death. 
Another film element used is
make up and costume. The makeup and
costume for Death accentuated the darkness of his character. The costume for Mia was sweet and always
light in color. It gave her a more
angelic persona. Her character was
important in this aspect, she was personified as Mary and the person to help
Antonius discover meaning for his life.
References
Palmer,
P. M. (1969). The seventh seal. English Exchange, 2-8.
