what questions does it ask? what answers does it give? what's the message?
i've skimmed some reviews, but there wasn't much, apart from the obvious like how the film throws in various symbols of life vs. death.
It doesn't give answers so much as it poses questions, inviting the viewer to reflect upon & consider his or her own perspective on life, death, personal meaning (or the lack thereof), and what constitutes a worthwhile existence. It's asking both whether Life on the grand scale is absurd or not, and whether each individual & unique life is absurd or not. If so, either way, is it possible to find or make meaning that satisfies you & makes life worth living for you? Remember, this was filmed not long after the immense slaughter WWII, in the looming shadow of nuclear war being possible at any moment. So people had grim reason to ponder such things. But at any time, the question of whether life is worth living, or whether it has any meaning, is always pertinent.
At least, that's my own reaction to it.
Well, yeah, the film is about the struggle of mortality and a facing of mortality and the horror of life, the inevitability there, and asks "So what? What does that mean? Who are we, then?"
We experience a microcosm of our own pursuit, struggle with, or denial of these questions through the characters' journey throughout the Seventh Seal.
We experience a microcosm of our own pursuit, struggle with, or denial of these questions through the characters' journey throughout the Seventh Seal.
I think that's the genius of it. To me, that's a big part of why the movie works. We see all these facets and aspects of the struggle of mortality through the eyes of the knight as he observes the people we observe through him.
shareYou have to watch it after watching the Fast and Furious series to really see the difference.
I just came back to this thread, and I am now thinking about how good a question this is. Oftentimes we credits movies as being "smart", and we mean that they present a storyline with power, with true artistry, one that illuminates or shows off Truth, or some other such lofty thing, but it's not always apparent how and why.
Why, for instance, is The Conversation smarter than Enemy of the State? I think most film critics would agree that that's true, but why? They both deal with paranoia, surveillance, and star Gene Hackman (arguably playing the same character), but one is "smarter" than the other. Why? It's slower-paced?
The difficulty here is coming from the fact that one feels truer, feels more "correct", and "feels" is the problem here, because it's a vague thing and it's experience or viewpoint-based. It's subjective.
Yet, in no universe is Enemy of the State smarter than The Conversation. Is it?