Set in medieval Europe, the movie tells the story of a returning crusader knight who plays chess with Death and whose life depends on the outcome of the game. On their subsequent journey through the plague-ravaged region, they meet a variety of characters on their journey, each of whom has a different attitude towards death, and these different attitudes reflect people’s different perceptions of the end of life.
The symbolism of the movie, such as the image of the Grim Reaper, the chess game between the Knight and the Grim Reaper, and the final “Dance of the Dead”, leave a deep impression on the audience.
1957 / Sweden / Drama Fantasy / Ingmar Bergman / Gunnar Bujörnstrand Bengt Etcheloth
On the beach, in the midst of huge waves, the valiant knight Brock (Max von Sydow) plays a game of life and death chess with the black-clad god of death (Bengt Ekerot).
During the game of chess, the knight is reviewing his life and what he sees and hears alludes to the biblical picture.
During the late Crusades in the fourteenth century, plague spread across the European continent and people were dying.
Brock once met a couple from the circus, the husband was a strong believer in the gods and incredibly religious, while his wife was more realistic and obedient.
Their mutual love for each other puts happiness within reach.
The knight met the blacksmith and his wife in the woods.
The blacksmith is very rude and his wife is very flirtatious, and they play a double act in the woods to passers-by, as if they were a pair of ridiculous puppets.
Finally, after a ritual of collective worship, the samurai and his friends encounter death once again, and what was once helplessness and fear, anger and doubt, is transformed into an interrogation of life. …… This film was awarded the Grand Prix du Jury at the 10th Cannes Film Festival.
