odysseydave Reviews

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Harrowing Question, Harrowing Answers

[5/10 · 14 May 2007]

50 years have passed since Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" was released to worldwide critical acclaim. And after 50 years of cinema; how many films have tried to put into debate these same questions that "The Seventh Seal" did before. Some of these films have succeeded , others have fallen on their faces flat. But "The Seventh Seal" has not aged or it's power diminished a single bit after half a century.

So what differs "The Seventh Seal" from other films in the same category and importance, thus making it great? It lies with Ingmar Bergman. Our story is set in the Middle Ages when the Plague was ravaging across Europe. Two men lie in a beach, a knight and his squire (Max Von Sydow and Gunnar Bjornstand), have just returned from the Crusades. They are scarred from the battles and the knight's faith fading. His search for meaning has not come up with an answer as he lies in doubt. Is there really an answer? While the throbbing of the beach waves subside and degrades into silence and Death (Beng Ekerot) is standing in front of the knight. "I've been at your side a long time…" remarks Death, as the knight, physically confident yet emotionally and spiritually deprived and frightened, tries to accept his fate. The two shall play a game of chess for the knight's soul. The game continues throughout the film.

Bergman has a particularly great talent of representing the world and its characters. And no surprise, The Seventh Seal is filled with many major/minor characters. First of all, the acting troupe comprised of the pleasure-seeker Skat ; and the husband and wife Josef and Mia with their infant Michael. The latter two characters are keenly important to the world of this film; they provide warmth, sanctuary and grace, contrary to The Seventh Seal's cold story. The minor players include Plog , a blacksmith, his wife Lisa , Raval , a seminarist; who sent the knight and his squire to join the Crusades. Raval, a Bergman stereotype of man of God, who is deplorable to the world around him. Also, a witch is included to this big dramatis personae; she casts doubt and anguish to us and especially the knight. And, in my opinion, the most important minor character is the mute girl . She somehow ends up in every scene in The Seventh Seal after her entrance. She remains a big presence (ironically, a presence like Death). This ensemble gives the film a lot more than the original storyline: humor, gentleness, vulgarity and etc. Leaving The Seventh Seal creating its own dynamic setting which we are engulfed into.

Going back, I suggested that Bergman has a definite answer to the subject of the film: the meaning of life; which has left many critics to many interpretations. But the answer is said plainly in the film; and tragically this response is somewhat fatalistic albeit pessimistic . Almost in a cruel way, Bergman burdens his answer throughout the film until the end. There is no room for sentimentality . Bergman's film and answer is cold, down-to-earth, and truthful . The Seventh Seal is Bergman's fatalistic , to-the-fact revelations hardlined by some of the most stark and beautiful images in the art of cinema. The best example of this is the scene which in the knight goes to church to confess; a hooded figure is standing waiting to receive the knight's anguish. With Gunnar Fischer's black-white, deep-focus cinematography, the knight's faith in God in balance, he pours out his entire soul to the hooded figure, perhaps, waiting for a response from God Himself. In agony, the knight goes as far as telling the figure about the game with Death . The hooded figure in curiosity asks how will he defeat Death. The knight, forthwithingly, tells his strategy. The hooded figure turns to the knight, he is in fact Death himself. No one is there to hear the knight's confession except nothingness, who is Death. From that point onwards, the knight is doomed, and the film has just passed its 25th minute. This is the beauty of the Bergman cinema, his images are as powerful as the story's theme, mostly about the absence of God. These scenes are Bergman masterstrokes, masterstrokes that are one of the most poignant and poetic in the history of cinema, to depict his fatalistic ideals . These scenes of gloom n' doom like the one mentioned lets the audience carry the film's burden even further. But the knight's quest for the meaning of life has not yet been extinguished. Then... he meets a witch about to be burned at the stake, and the knight ironically questions this Devil's servant about the knowledge of God. She tells him to look into her eyes... the knight sees nothing but terror. The witch goes into bragging about her relationship with the Devil, the knight looks down disheartened. As the witch is being burned at the stake, her eyes, the eyes of terror, open up as she fears for her life and with this sight the knight has given up his quest. It turns out the witch was looking at Death. The knight has come to his second dead end, he has tried to talk to God about his search, instead, Death is the one who answers him. Here, the knight tries to talk to Satan but to no avail. Only Death answers yet again this time through the dying witch. It seems Death is the only supernatural force in this world. From the march of the flagellant to the death of one of the minor characters, this scenes of immense poignancy and the meaningless is what makes up the bulk of The Seventh Seal and Bergman's worldy answer. But what about Death, does he know about any saviors? Like a cruel punchline, Death remains ambiguous to us. He remarks, "I am unknowing".

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

History written in lightning

[5/10 · 24 July 2006]

The silent cinema comes into fruition with "The Birth of a Nation". D.W Griffith's epic saga of The Civil War, The Reconstruction, and the birth of the Klu Klux Clan shows the genius manifested in the early mute days of cinema. With "Birth" the silent cinema will never be the same again. The critic James Agee quotes "He (D.W Griffith) achieved what no other man has achieved. To watch his work is like being witness to the beginning of melody, or the first conscious use of the lever or the wheel; the emergence, coordination and first eloquence of language; the birth of an art: and to realize that this is all the work of one man". And that's what "Birth" is a landmark in the history of film.

"Birth" also achieved something new in the medium of film. Which is the spreading of propaganda through using the magic screen. Even though the message being received was a boldly racial one. Griffith achieves this by using his amazing ability to create unforgettable images. These images which I like to call propaganda shots are used in "Birth" many times. Like one of the first shots in the film, wherein a judge holds a little black boy. Simple, yet provocative enough to spread its message.

Griffith never restrains his cinematic visions. Since "Birth" was not scripted, the movie was entirely visualized by Griffith. And these visions were one that a man would marvel at. "Birth's" battle scenes are one of the most incredible shots taken in the history of film. The sheer number of extras and the explosives blowing up everywhere in screen is a factor that now never exists in today's cinema because of the frequent use of special effects. Griffith could not achieve the full fruition of the silents just with the spectacle of it. In this Griffith uses analytical editing. Griffith crosscuts from one place to the other emphasizing the drama and mostly emphasizing his genius. One scene which in one of the Cameron brothers is about to go into battle with the North and is crosscut with the Cameron family praying posits the genius of Mr. D.W Griffith. Spectacle and amazement abounds in Griffith's film.

"Birth's" racial message is so bold because of Griffith's use of amazing imagery. The ending in which Jesus Christ looks upon the happiness of the whites is one way of Griffith to exploit his message of American unity. Another shot which in a white man holds a little black boy is so racial (mostly because of the title card before "the coming of the Negro the first seed of disunion") and yet it is a simple image. Griffith masterfully uses that to spread propaganda. This propaganda will be the downfall of "Birth". (Explain later).

Keeping in with Griffith's cinematic technique to provide full fruition to the silent cinema "Birth" exemplifies all of what the silent has discovered since "The Great Train Robbery". It uses some camera movements, the spectacle of a large crowd, the use of un-dramaturgical acting, and especially to make a series of shot dramatic. One shot remains the pantheon to Griffith's doings to cinema. A family is stuck up in a hill, an iris on the top left corner focuses on them, the iris widens up while the camera pans right simultaneously. We now see the battle between the North and South sides. This is what Griffith gave to us with "Birth" thus making it one of the most influential films.

Yet, Birth fails to be a masterpiece. It is a landmark, a stepping stone in film, yes but it has some major flaws. The most visible is its harsh tone against blacks. "Birth" is a monstrously racist film. Racism wasn't a word associated with the dictionary at 1915 but now in 2006 "Birth" may only be associated to its fallibility. "Birth" has not dated well it cannot be seen by all. Another weakness found in birth is its melodramatic, soap-opera like love stories. The relationship with Elsie and Ben Cameron does not coincide with the saga story of the South. Time has made the love stories sound very cliqued. Time has been harsh to "Birth". This was Griffith's pantheon yet Griffith's masterpiece is "Intolerance" where its visuals supersede "Birth's"

Film enthusiasts can only hope that "The Birth of a Nation" will be redempted and to be known as a landmark in the long story of the cinema. Woodrow Wilson once said this about "Birth": "It is like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true". "Birth" is history written with lighting yet we now cannot take that writing. But for the people up above in the heavens who were alive in 1915 I think they're praying for us to see "lighting writing". Woodrow Wilson was damn right.

THE BIRTH OF A NATION 3 stars out of 4 Directed by: D.W Griffith