[psycho d]

The Seventh Seal (1957). This simple precept for this flick is confounded by the abstruse questions such a subject is forced to face. Fighting in God's name for a decade, our heroes return home only to find that death and despair have infested their homeland. The contradictory nature of man, wickedly intelligent and self-aware on the one hand, a stupid, superstitious and easily manipulated idiot on the other, is what makes the plight of our heroes so simple and yet so profound. In essence, we are asked to respond to God's silence in assured faith, a contradiction to common sense that has somehow has manacled our essence from time immemorial. What is more, this flick flirts with such conundrum by account of the simplicity of not seeking answers but instead a purpose. Indeed! This flick is at times a cacophony of relentless imagery punctuated by wonderful humor and witty dialog. The acting was simply aces on all accounts. Ingmar Bergman's direction hits the bulls eye here, crafting an impossible concept into a convincing and highly enjoyable flick that cannot help but move any human with breathe still gracing his lungs. How our players accept their fate, and the final image of that fate, leaves an indelible stain that only the commerce of celluloid could faithfully employ. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk