Post by klep on Jan 23, 2017 7:51:57 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/16: The Seventh Seal
1950s WEEK!
Faith is part of one of humanity's greatest contradictions. We are wired to accept reality as the things we perceive - what we touch, taste, hear, smell, and see. But we are also wired to look for patterns and seek purpose behind things that occur - even if we cannot directly perceive them. We rely on evidence to believe things, and we believe things without evidence. We pray to God not knowing He is there, but trusting that He hears us all the same.
So what do we do when our prayers aren't answered? When horrible things happen, and we struggle to find the presence of God in our lives? What helps us to stay true to faith in the darkest hours when all seems lost? In The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman broke from his relatively banal beginnings to investigate the struggles of the pious in landmark fashion, crafting a masterpiece that avoids becoming cliché even as it is constantly quoted and imitated.
Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) is a knight freshly returned from the Crusades. Over the past ten years what he has seen is violence, bloodshed, and all manner of depravity. Even his return to his homeland is not free from horror, as the plague is sweeping through the land killing thousands. He has seen every horror known to man, but he has not seen grace; he has not seen God.
His misanthropic squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) has given in to nihilism as a result, seeing the world as ugly and its people foolish. But while Block feels disconnected from the world, he still holds his faith and wants to return to humanity. He laments that when he prays, he hears only silence and begs for a sign - for evidence - that God still cares for His children.
He finds that connection with Joseph (Nils Poppe) and Mary (Bibi Andersson), a couple of traveling actors with an infant son. He spends a quiet afternoon with them, eating, drinking, and singing. And for the first time in the film - indeed, perhaps for the first time since he left his home - he seems happy and content.
But as he was Block's constant companion in the Crusades, so had Death (Bengt Ekerot) come again into the presence of Block, this time to take the knight himself as he finally reached the shores of his homeland. Block challenged Death then to a game of chess, hoping to win or at least delay long enough to find some meaning in this life. Death is amused and unsporting, and hounds the knight and his traveling companions like a prototypal slasher villain - the most inevitable of all.
Ultimately Block loses and Death reveals that not only will he take the knight, he will also take the rest of his companions. Some are defiant at the end, and others are welcoming. Block begs for mercy from God, faithful to the last even as he knows his time has come.
Because not all is lost, for while Block did lose his game he accomplished that meaningful task he was searching for. No fool, Block knew no one around him was safe from Death, and so he used the end of the game to stall and delay as Joseph, Mary, and their child - sensing something was wrong - made their escape. As Death leads the condemned in a dance, Joseph, Mary, and little Mikael are safe on a far hilltop. With them free to live and enjoy God's blessing, Block has received his evidence; his faith is rewarded, and he has heard the word of God.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/30: Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
UNSEEN CLASSICS WEEK!
Testing the width of this middle column on Facebook, our next Movie of the Week is #38 on the Sight & Sound poll: it's Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles. Join us next week for discussion of this classic film that a number of us will be seeing for the first time! Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 1/24: The War Room
This week the Next Picture Show podcast takes a look at a pair of political documentaries that bookend the last 25 years of American politics: The War Room and Weiner. On Wednesday we'll have a day to discuss the former, about the successful 1992 Clinton campaign. The War Room is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel and for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
1950s WEEK!
Faith is part of one of humanity's greatest contradictions. We are wired to accept reality as the things we perceive - what we touch, taste, hear, smell, and see. But we are also wired to look for patterns and seek purpose behind things that occur - even if we cannot directly perceive them. We rely on evidence to believe things, and we believe things without evidence. We pray to God not knowing He is there, but trusting that He hears us all the same.
So what do we do when our prayers aren't answered? When horrible things happen, and we struggle to find the presence of God in our lives? What helps us to stay true to faith in the darkest hours when all seems lost? In The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman broke from his relatively banal beginnings to investigate the struggles of the pious in landmark fashion, crafting a masterpiece that avoids becoming cliché even as it is constantly quoted and imitated.
Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) is a knight freshly returned from the Crusades. Over the past ten years what he has seen is violence, bloodshed, and all manner of depravity. Even his return to his homeland is not free from horror, as the plague is sweeping through the land killing thousands. He has seen every horror known to man, but he has not seen grace; he has not seen God.
His misanthropic squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) has given in to nihilism as a result, seeing the world as ugly and its people foolish. But while Block feels disconnected from the world, he still holds his faith and wants to return to humanity. He laments that when he prays, he hears only silence and begs for a sign - for evidence - that God still cares for His children.
He finds that connection with Joseph (Nils Poppe) and Mary (Bibi Andersson), a couple of traveling actors with an infant son. He spends a quiet afternoon with them, eating, drinking, and singing. And for the first time in the film - indeed, perhaps for the first time since he left his home - he seems happy and content.
But as he was Block's constant companion in the Crusades, so had Death (Bengt Ekerot) come again into the presence of Block, this time to take the knight himself as he finally reached the shores of his homeland. Block challenged Death then to a game of chess, hoping to win or at least delay long enough to find some meaning in this life. Death is amused and unsporting, and hounds the knight and his traveling companions like a prototypal slasher villain - the most inevitable of all.
Ultimately Block loses and Death reveals that not only will he take the knight, he will also take the rest of his companions. Some are defiant at the end, and others are welcoming. Block begs for mercy from God, faithful to the last even as he knows his time has come.
Because not all is lost, for while Block did lose his game he accomplished that meaningful task he was searching for. No fool, Block knew no one around him was safe from Death, and so he used the end of the game to stall and delay as Joseph, Mary, and their child - sensing something was wrong - made their escape. As Death leads the condemned in a dance, Joseph, Mary, and little Mikael are safe on a far hilltop. With them free to live and enjoy God's blessing, Block has received his evidence; his faith is rewarded, and he has heard the word of God.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/30: Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
UNSEEN CLASSICS WEEK!
Testing the width of this middle column on Facebook, our next Movie of the Week is #38 on the Sight & Sound poll: it's Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles. Join us next week for discussion of this classic film that a number of us will be seeing for the first time! Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 1/24: The War Room
This week the Next Picture Show podcast takes a look at a pair of political documentaries that bookend the last 25 years of American politics: The War Room and Weiner. On Wednesday we'll have a day to discuss the former, about the successful 1992 Clinton campaign. The War Room is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel and for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.