Jof is an entertainer, but also a spiritual visionary known for his fantastic tales. The Seventh Seal’s most interesting characters for our present circumstances are a young couple, Jof and Mia, and their baby son, Mikael. In the context of a pandemic keeping us confined to our homes, Christians should ask ourselves: Are we cooped up with an idol god of fear, or are we finding ways to spread the love of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? More importantly, however, it is a reminder not to wallow in morbid speculation, but rather to enjoy the Lord and serve him despite our worries. We are not endangered by a plague as the medieval people that Bergman depicts would have known but we are facing a serious public health situation, and every case of illness and recovery (or death) is an occasion for contemplating the meaning of existence. It is also particularly encouraging for our own circumstances: hunkering down at home to avoid spreading the coronavirus. The Seventh Seal is, in every way, one of the greatest movies of all time, and it is among the forty-five selections on the Vatican Best Film List of 1995.

Block imagines he is capable of “one meaningful act” before it is finally check-mate. For a while, he puts off the inevitable while getting to know a rag-tag group of his fellow countrymen trying to avoid the black death during the brief, beautiful Swedish summer heat. “I want God to stretch out his hand, uncover his face, and speak to me,” the knight tells Death in the confessional. He is not afraid to die, but he is curious about why he has been chosen, and what the ultimate meaning of life and death may be. Block comes home from many battles to find a plague-infested homeland. “We must make an idol of our fear, and call it god.” So says the recently departed Max von Sydow in his most famous role as Antonius Block, the returning crusader who plays chess with Death, in Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 masterpiece, The Seventh Seal.

The seventh seal 1957 ingmar bergman