So who would have thought that Death enjoys playing chess? In all seriousness though, this truly is an excellent film that lives up to all of the praise it gets.The story concerns a Swedish knight who returns home after years of fighting in crusades to a land ravaged by the Plague. He has come to believe that God
doesn't exist, and despite being disillusioned with the world, isn't ready to leave it just yet. Whe nDeath comes to claim him, the knight challenges him to a game of chess (it's a pick up game that starts and stops instead of being played all at once) on the condition that if the knight wins, he gets to keep on living. This all sounds like a very heavy film, and yeah, it is, but it's all presented in a very entertaining way, so the heavy meditations on life, death, faith, and man's search for meaning don't come off as bloated pretentiousness but instead wonderful thigns to think about as the audience follows the knight going across the land meeting up with all sorts of people that help him better understand the world as he continually plans his straetgy for his game with death.This is just an absolutely beautfiul film, both to look at thanks to the wonderful cinematography and images, and it's overall message filled with allegory and symbolism. It is a period piece, but Bergman wasn't trying to make a strict historically accurate film. That's okay though because it would have been hard to do that and simultaneously make it the richly symbolic work of art that it is.In a way, this might be one of the most interesting films I've seen, even though the concept isn't totally new. It definitely feels like visual poetry, and I can recognize the vast influence this thing has had ever since its release. Besides having a great look and being fascinating, this film has some good performances (especially from Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot) and some pretty good writing. You should really see it. It's quite an experience.
October 21, 2008
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