The Seventh Seal
Swedish · 1957
Directed by Ingmar Bergman. A medieval knight returning from the Crusades plays chess with Death while searching for meaning in a plague-ravaged land. A landmark of existential cinema.
Wikipedia ↗Antonius Block
“Är det så grymt otänkbart att fatta Gud med sina sinnen? Varför ska han gömma sig i ett dis av halvkvädna löften och osedda under?”
Swedish
“Is it so cruelly inconceivable to grasp God with the senses? Why should He hide Himself in a mist of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles? How can we have faith in those who believe when we can't have faith in ourselves? What is going to happen to those of us who want to believe but aren't able to?”
Antonius Block
“Jag vill ha kunskap, inte tro, inte antaganden, utan kunskap. Jag vill att Gud ska sträcka ut sin hand mot mig, uppenbara sig och tala till mig.”
Swedish
“I want knowledge, not faith, not suppositions, but knowledge. I want God to stretch out His hand toward me, reveal Himself, and speak to me.”
Death
“Ingen kan fly mig. Ingen kan lura mig.”
Swedish
“No one can escape me. No one can cheat me. You play chess with me, knight, but I never lose. It is only a matter of time.”
Antonius Block
“Tron är ett plågsamt ting. Det är som att älska någon som finns därute i mörkret men aldrig visar sig, hur högt man än ropar.”
Swedish
“Faith is a torment. It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call.”
Antonius Block
“Jag ska minnas det här ögonblicket. Tystnaden, skymningen, skålarna med jordgubbar och mjölk, era ansikten i kvällsljuset.”
Swedish
“I shall remember this moment. The silence, the twilight, the bowls of strawberries and milk, your faces in the evening light. I'll try to remember what we have talked about. I'll carry this memory between my hands as carefully as if it were a bowl filled to the brim with fresh milk. And it will be an adequate sign — it will be enough for me.”