Farewell

It was purely coincidental that yesterday's post was about foreign films and then two masters Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni passed away.

Every time I see a student film with a character called "death" I think of Bergman (here on the left.) Yesterday I saw several times the scene from The Seventh Seal where the white knight- Max Von Sydow- plays chess with Death. It is a great film, but honestly hard to watch. I am glad I saw it 20 years ago, it helped inform me, but I am not racing out to see it again soon.

This morning I learned of Antonioni's death and I was very saddened. Regular readers know of my fondness for Blow Up. I learned a lot about what film could be seeing that movie.

Both filmmakers challenged their audience. It was not always easy or fun to see their films, but they helped shape cinema and for that they should be celebrated.

PeterH