Welcome to a column that you are probably the only person to have read! I actually hope at least some of you out there have seen these two movies. See, what I have here is the first of what I expect to be many "versus" columns. What we'll have are two comparable(somewhat) movies being stacked up against each other, and the jury(me) will pick the winner. For the inaugural edition I have picked two brilliant movies. They hail from one of the best countries for movies, Sweden. The two movies I've picked are considered to be the absolute best from the infamous, Ingmar Bergman. While Ingmar has done many great movies, when ever you hear his amazing career discussed people either pick one of two movies as his best. I give you The Seventh Seal vs. Wild Strawberries.
The Seventh Seal
This is probably the most famous movie from Ingmar Bergman. Our story is one of simply, death. The main story focuses on a Christian knight from the Crusades facing death. Not death as in the end of life exactly, but as in the angel of death. While strolling along a beach surveying his fallen fellow soldiers he meets death, but he is well aware that his time is up as well. Trying to avoid his ultimate fate, he challenges death to a chess match. The stakes are simple. The solider will remain alive as long as he can continue to win, but if he loses he must concede that he is dead. Yet, the solider's motives are not that of wanting to live, but rather to understand the point of all the madness he's seen.
The movie stars Max von Sydow as Antonius Block, the solider looking for borrowed time. Without a doubt the best role of his career. Never have I seen another movie in which Sydow comes across as so much of a leading man. It's without a doubt a very strong and commanding performance. The movie is simply stole by another actor though. Bengt Ekerot, who plays Death, creates one of the most iconic and chilling figures in movie history. Totally captivating in any scene he is in, and without a doubt has inspired just about any incarnation of the character of death in any film since. Played very simply, Ekerot is forever calm. In his portrayal of death he is never in doubt of the end result. He will take the solider's life. It's what he does. Bibi Andersson rounds out the supporting cast(all who want to live) in a very well acted movie.
The word that describes The Seventh Seal the best would have to be, twisted. The aspect of losing life is totally seen as almost a non-issue between the two main characters. The solider wants to live, but not because he's afraid to die. He wants to know what all of us do, what's the point? No doubt there are other movies that look at death in satirical light, but I think it's the blending of humor, drama and the eventual horror we all face that makes The Seventh Seal so memorable. The film is what all of the greats are, an experience.
Wild Strawberries
If you haven't seen The Seventh Seal you've probably never even heard of Wild Strawberries. Mostly because Wild Strawberries is nowhere near the dramatic study of life and death that The Seventh Seal is. Except that's what the movie is about. One man's study of his life and legacy. Victor Sjöström stars as Professor Isak Borg. Isak begins the film setting out for a trip to receive an anniversary title at the university that he teaches. Along the way he reflects on his life. Visiting the sites of where he was a child, where he met his first love and the other moments of his life.
At the beginning we see a man who is cold and perhaps bitter at feeling his age and that his life is coming to a close. By the end of the movie you see a total transformation. The old man has come to peace with his life and the world. When remembering Wild Strawberries one word always tends to pop in my head. I always remember how touching the movie ultimately is. I don't think that at least in one point of the movie the viewer doesn't ask the same questions that Isak does. "Have I lived life?" By the end of the movie the answer for Isak is a pleasant yes. He didn't save the world or conquer it, but he did love. The movie isn't so much a view into a man's life, but rather a view into life itself.
And the Winner Is..... The Seventh Seal!
While I think I showed great admiration for both movies, I have to say that The Seventh Seal is the better of the two. Wild Strawberries, while great, is a simple movie. If I were to try to write this same column in 5 years without having seen either movie in that time I could do so on The Seventh Seal. It's a movie that sticks with you. I honestly wonder if I could recall much of Wild Strawberries. One of those movies you say "I remember liking it when I saw it.". The Seventh Seal just has edge to it. The images are more profound and the movie I would say is just more artistic. Either way you look at it, both movies are among the greatest ever made. The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries are intelligent movies for intelligent people. Are you worthy of watching them?
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Every other Thursday
Discussing classic films from City Lights to Apocalypse
Now and everything in between and beyond.
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| Andy York |
Andy is a life long movie fanatic. The first movie he saw in the theater was Back to the Future, Part 2 at the age of 3 and he has loved movies ever since.
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