The Seventh Seal Film Post

I always seem to inadvertently not post the film notes / thoughts I have in my looseleaf up onto to my blog. It's not that I'm irresponsible, the thought always passes my ever-expanding mind.

Anyways the first moment that struck me upon the film was the quote "Love is perfect in it's imperfection." Maybe it is just me, but quotes like these just stick with me.

In all honesty, while the quote does sounds rather cliche and those "something you would say about that subject" matters, why criticize the quote when it is so true? I mean, throughout the film, the bond of Jofs and his wife is certainly imperfect, and yet it seems so perfect. Throughout the film Jofs and his wife are faced with many difficulties, even when they meet Antonious Bloch and the squire, and even throughout the film itself. But yet even throughout the film, through all these trials and tribulations, their connection seems so perfect. So love is truly perfect in it's imperfection, because love always will prevail even through adversity.

My second thought involved the girl who was going to burned for "being a witch." One of the images that the cameraman takes is a diagonal shot of the girls arms and legs spread out on the cross. As the wooden cross lays on the tree, I feel that the girl and the wooden cross represent the idea that God is dead. The cross and the girl, in my opinion, allude directly to Jesus and his common representation as a figure on the cross.

In the final scene, when Death reveals himself to the six remaining people (not including Jofs and his wife), I believe it's an example of irony, and a possible view upon the existance of God. Before Death appears himself in front of the people, the heros are reading a passage from the Bible describing the 7th Seal. It shows that there is silence in heaven, seven angels, and seven trumpets. However, when Death appears upon the dining room, he is shown as the seventh person in the room. This possibly could mean that Death was the "last angel."

Perhaps Death as an angel means that God cannot exist without Death, because God must have his angels to protect him, or it is a example of irony, and a small joke made from the director.

I also noticed that when Jofs and his wife were finally at the beach and Jofs reveals his vision that he had. He mentions that there was a "fool with the lute." Yet, Jofs is seen throughout the film to have expertise in the lute, and he is often cited as the "fool" throughout the film. Perhaps another example of irony.

Runaway Train Super Post

As we finished the envigorating movie, Runaway Train, I can honestly say I was thoroughly impressed throughout the movie. While the movie was (described by Mr. Bennett too) as being very flashy and glitzy, even past that action, the movie was still quite desirable.

One of the first themes I saw briefly was power versus powerlessness in a scene when the train is entering the forest. The camera gives a birds eye view of the train and the forest, allowing us to focus on every aspect of that shot. We focus on the trees that surround the train, and the mountains that are immersed over all. I believe this is an example of power / powerlessness because while the train is main aspect of the whole movie, and it is considered a "powerful" object, in comparison to everything else, the train seems so miniscule and unimportant. It just puts itself onto natures background.

The train itself, while it represents Manny, I think it represents more than just Manny. I believe it represents the integrity that partners can share, because the train cars that connect to each other are bound so tightly, but yet, if you break that bond for good, like breaking the connection between train cars, then that relationship is lost forever. This happened throughout the movie, as the train originally contained all the cars, but yet as the movie continued on, and Buck, Manny and Sarah advanced on, the relationship became more strained. Finally though, as Buck, Manny and Sarah reached the final train car, the relationship finally broke. Hence the train represents the integrity that partners can share, in both bad and good ways.

The train itself also represents the perserverance throughout anything. Much like Manny, the train continues on, crashing through obstacles (such as the other train car, or the wooden tunnels), and will never stop against everything. Even in the last scene, when Manny is standing on the train through the blustering snow, Manny, nor the train still continue on, unopposed by anyone or anything, as long as time will always go on.

Once again, I truly enjoyed the movie, Runaway Train, because while entertaining, it taught me these life lessons that I'll keep in my heart throughout life.

EDIT:

Alright scratch that previous conclusion, that was a little too cheesy and fluffy for my taste. To be honest, I'm not really a cynic nor a pessimist. Maybe that's why I seem to be "glorifying" (used broadly) all these themes and observations I notice throughout the movie. Yet to be honest, these are the themes that really stuck out to me throughout the movie, and (to anyone that does disagree) shouldn't everyone be able to voice their opinion?

Maybe that's why I symphatize the critic sometimes ...