tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post484773430391222108..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Death in SwedenSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-76961245256736065362021-01-29T16:26:18.228-06:002021-01-29T16:26:18.228-06:00This feels like another movie I should really revi...This feels like another movie I should really revisit.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-85857826376204924912021-01-20T16:28:30.750-06:002021-01-20T16:28:30.750-06:00On Cries and Whispers I think you got further than...On Cries and Whispers I think you got further than me. Reading your review it sounds about right that this is about pain on every level and that only Anna has found a solution. That works for me.<br />TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-73583197181861245882016-04-18T23:24:15.014-05:002016-04-18T23:24:15.014-05:00I haven't seen this again and I really need to...I haven't seen this again and I really need to. Maybe the next time it shows up on Turner Classic.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-30719579923271750992016-04-14T10:40:29.026-05:002016-04-14T10:40:29.026-05:00Did you ever go back to watch The Seventh Seal aga...Did you ever go back to watch The Seventh Seal again? I think you are on to something with Jons and Antonius being two aspects of the same search, but I also think that they actually find their meaning in a field of wild strawberries and that the spiritual meaning of life is epitomized by Jof, Mom and their child.TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-31448853029429901212013-04-10T08:48:35.598-05:002013-04-10T08:48:35.598-05:00I can see disappointment if you had it built up th...I can see disappointment if you had it built up that much. Somehow I avoided that much of the hype for it, and it wasn't spoiled for me. It's always a danger when something gets a lot of hype. <br /><br />I did like it, and look forward to watching it again. It's a lot more fun than I had thought it would be, and that's saying something for a Bergman film.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-8610550724269704052013-04-09T22:15:56.486-05:002013-04-09T22:15:56.486-05:00I saw The Seventh Seal quite a few years ago. It ...I saw The Seventh Seal quite a few years ago. It was the first of the famous "great" 50s/60s European films that have the reputation for changing the cinema that I saw. As such it had an impossible level of hype to live up to. My reaction after seeing it was "I liked it, but that's it?" Since then I've found I have had similar reactions to most of the other films in this quasi-category, including my recent first viewing of Breathless.<br /><br />What I liked most about The Seventh Seal was the metaphorical chess match against Death. He's a Knight. He goes to a Bishop to try to get aide against Death. Castles were a given for the time period. I was thinking he would attempt to even recruit the help of a Queen or King, but it seemed like at a certain point Bergman got tired of the metaphor and went in another direction.<br /><br />Cries and Whispers is a Bergman film I might recommend. Since I've found Bergman doesn't do much for me, that's actually saying something. The woman who was the aide was the most interesting character in this film for me.Chip Laryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787403805554027107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-2714921741776942232013-04-09T19:24:33.949-05:002013-04-09T19:24:33.949-05:00Yeah, I like it more, too. But I do think that Cri...Yeah, I like it more, too. But I do think that <i>Cries and Whispers</i> is a more mature and somehow more important or meaningful, or at the very least personal film. This isn't a knock on <i>The Seventh Seal</i>, but a general observation. <br /><br />I love the comparison of the two characters with Bergman himself, and I'm not so sure you're far off on that.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-31216031073498806752013-04-09T19:23:06.137-05:002013-04-09T19:23:06.137-05:00I think we agree more than you think we do. I do t...I think we agree more than you think we do. I do think <i>Cries and Whispers</i> is Bergman's greatest film, or most important, or objectively best. But it's not the one I like the best. I'd watch <i>The Seventh Seal</i> or <i>Smiles of a Summer Night</i> over it any day of the week just based on preference. <br /><br />That said, <i>Cries and Whispers</i> is a much more mature work, and it takes things to a further and a darker place. It's a lot denser, which is what makes it so difficult to parse. <br /><br />I agree that there's some humor in <i>The Seventh Seal</i>. For all the weightiness and dealing with the meanings of life and death, there are some real moments of joy.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-15321125130154132062013-04-09T17:30:10.254-05:002013-04-09T17:30:10.254-05:00You and a disagree some here. I much prefer The Se...You and a disagree some here. I much prefer The Seventh Seal to Cries and Whispers, but I think it is because, like you, I can't fully interpret what Bergman was trying to do. The Seventh Seal is spiritually and existentially humorous to me (if that's possible). Cries and Whispers made me think too hard about every single detail. Perhaps I've become a lazy film watcher, but when I have to work exceptionally hard to grasp a film's meaning it turns me off.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-77185937981612820662013-04-09T14:36:59.566-05:002013-04-09T14:36:59.566-05:00The Seventh Seal. This movie. My life. No words...The Seventh Seal. This movie. My life. No words. Best... movie... ever...<br /><br />It's so funny that you posted this today because just last week, I watched it (for, like, the sixth time) to write it up. It's everything to me. It's gorgeous to look at and wonderfully deep, all while inexplicably remaining ENTERTAINING at the same time. Jons and Antonius are such an important pairing, an existential Odd Couple, if you will. I interpret Jons and Antonius as two aspects of Bergman's personality: the one, desperately searching for signs of God, yet remaining hopeful despite frustrations; the other, cynical to the last, accepting of God's absence, earthy as you point out, yet still noble and moral. Maybe this is all in my head, but I like to think that some days, Bergman was Jons, and other days, he was Antonius. I know *I* identify with both men on different days.<br /><br />No words. I just... this movie. It's everything to me. I am a better person because this film exists. <br /><br />Cries and Whispers is good too, but I like The Seventh Seal more. siochembiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11487373396181856763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-65575147750938007642013-04-09T08:00:35.327-05:002013-04-09T08:00:35.327-05:00@Jessica--I have found that I really, really like ...@Jessica--I have found that I really, really like Bergman, but I don't like him as a steady diet. I don't think I could do a marathon of his work, but I'm going to watch him more. I'd do that marathon, but only at the pace of one or two per week. <br /><br />@Chris--I feel like I've just scratched the surface on both of these. There's a lot going on in both that I'm getting subconsciously that I'd love to tease out. You bring up something really interesting about <i>The Seventh Seal</i>--the struggle with God's intention. How do people maintain their faith in a world where a third to a half of the population dies in agony from a terrible disease? Certainly it has existential qualities, but there are intense religious implications as well.<br /><br />I know what you mean about talking about them being more fun. That's especially true of <i>Cries and Whispers</i>, because that one is difficult to get through (but completely worth it).SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-45810272841131348382013-04-09T04:07:29.047-05:002013-04-09T04:07:29.047-05:00I like your interpretations. How Cries and Whisper...I like your interpretations. How Cries and Whispers is about pain towards others, and towards ourselves. I just find that film difficult to sit through, as it affects me, watching cruel behavior, and people in agony.<br /><br />And how in The Seventh Seal, you write that Antonius is all theory while Jons is action, and how timeless this is. <br />You could see the film for how people must have struggled with God’s intentions, especially during hardship of the Plaque.<br />I think a general documentary about the Black Plaque may not have illuminated the inner, subjective struggle with God, that this fictional film managed.<br />I think understanding what people were like in the Middle Ages would help, to dig even deeper into what Bergman was trying to say. (even though themes are timeless to some degree)<br /><br />I think I enjoy talking about these two films, more than actually watching them ( :Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395044055566348346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-3486896711799822842013-04-09T00:34:33.380-05:002013-04-09T00:34:33.380-05:00It's been ages since I watched either of those...It's been ages since I watched either of those movies and now you make me want to go back. We're playing with the idea at home to start a Bergman marathon project watching all of his movies from the start at forward.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com