1988
Seventh Sign is based, in a sense, on The Book of Revelations - the most difficult to understand. A typical kind of Apocalypse, in some ways in keeping with the book of Daniel.
The book is written by someone who calls himself John, although many people do not think it is the same John who wrote the gospel of John. The author of this book is claimed to be St. John the Divine or John of Patmos, an island to which this John was exiled.The book of Revelations deals with the confrontation with the "forces of evil" and the forces of God at a place called Megiddo or Armegedon (from the Hebrew, har meggido or har meggidon meaning the mountain area of Megiddo. This was a place where an early major battle had been fought).
The highly symbolic nature of the book makes it difficult to understand: numbers abound as do characters (the beast, or anti-Christ (never called Satan here) whose number is 666,the great harlot or whore of Babylon, the four horsemen, the seven seals, seven angels, seven trumpets).
Both Latin and Hebrew have numbers which are written by letters I=1 V=5 X=10 and so on. As a result, there is a great deal of mysticism tied to trying to interpret the book with numerology and so on. Seven seems to be related to the number of churches that were in existence at the time and the book seems to be written to comfort them in that they will not be destroyed, but saved. In this sense, the book refers specifically to times contemporary with the writing of the book.
More recently it has become popular to think that the book is really about the end of the world, rather than the end of the persecution of the Christian churches. As a result people try to find contemporary meaning in much of the book's complex and bizarre language. In this respect some scholars have pointed out that the book is written in almost barbarous Greek whereas the Gospel of John if very sophisticated. This is sometimes given as evidence that the authors are different.
Rev 6 deals with the opening of the seals. Outside of Revelation there are references to certain events which have become common in the "mythology" around the Bible. Wandering Jew motif - person who travels through time unable to die. Typical is Flying Dutchman
Wandering Jew, central figure of a Middle Ages legend about a Jew (often a shoemaker - probably to fit the idea of wandering) who refused to allow Jesus Christ to rest at his door as he bore his cross toward Calvary. As a result, the Jew was condemned by Jesus to wander over the face of the earth until his second coming. A legend resembling this tale but not identifying the wanderer as a Jew was recorded in medieval times. The wanderer became a Jew in a German work of the 17th century, and thereafter the legend attained great popularity, frequently serving as a vehicle for anti-Semitism. Among its numerous treatments in literature is that of the French novelist Eugène Sue in The Wandering Jew (1844-45).
For further info see Wandering Jew motif.
Sometimes called Malchus, the name given both to the person whose ear is cut off, and also to the man who strikes Christ before the Sanhedrin although there is no evidence they are the same person. Another name is Cartaphilas, and yet another is Ahasuerus or Ahasverus
Story occurs in Matthew 16:28 and John 18:20-22 John 21:20
The idea that one might live forever as a punishment appears in Parsifal where Kundry is said to have been Herodias among others.
AFTER THE FILM
The film, unlike other "biblical" films, is not set in biblical times. The events are prophesied in the Bible but do not occur there. This film, set in contemporary time shows in effect the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Book of Revelation. There is some discussion in the film over how Revelations is to be regarded in the conversation between Avi and the priest.
Gender: Remember there is a tendency to associate conversion to Christianity as something of a feminizing force. Men are generally soldiers or in other masculine occupations of the time and they finally reject the role in order to become peace loving Christians.
Feminist aspects of this film have it that this time world is redeemed by a woman who dies "dies for him" and saves the world and causes the "Guf" to be refilled with souls.
There is a reliance on mysticism in the script some of which is outside the Bible proper, but is found in some Jewish traditions which surround it.
The terms Malachim and guf are important in the film. Malachim is a Hebrew word for messenger and is frequently translated in the Bible as "angel" (angelus (Latin) and angelos (Greek) have the same meaning)
The use of Malachim as a kind of alphabet is believed to have originated with Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, a magician of the 16th century.
The word "guf" The Jewish Encyclopedia states that "The Syriac Apoc. Baruch (xxx. 12) speaks of "a certain number of righteous souls that will come forth from their retreats at the advent of the Messiah" (comp. Yeb. 62a: "The son of David will not come until all the souls have left the cage" ["guf," "columbarium"])." col·um·bar·i·um also col·um·bar·y --n., pl. col·um·bar·i·a also col·um·bar·ies. 1.a. A vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the dead. b. One of the niches in such a vault. 2.a. A dovecote. b. A pigeonhole in a dovecote. [Latin columbārium, sepulchre for urns, dovecote, from columba, dove.]
How does the film make use of flashbacks? What purpose do they have? What kind of mental set do they engender in the viewer?
How does the film use editing to cross cut different aspects of the story and finally link them together.
How does the film deal with Jewishness?
Think about the imagery in the film? What associations can you make with birds for example?
The eclipse is a significant way of explaining the "moon turning to blood" (lots of things turn to blood in these films). Unfortunately the eclipse is running backwards.
How is the political structure dealt with in the film and the problem of the "death of the last martyr"? What is the role of teh governor?
In what ways does the issue of gender enter into the film visually? What kinds of images are there the suggest things about the reversals and mergers that are occurring in the film? Think about the pregnant Mary; who is looking for a place to stay? etc.
Are there other biblical images you can find?
What is the role of Father Lucci (Peter Friedman) in the film? How does he relate to other aspects of both biblical and extra biblical materials? What kind of statement does it make about immortality? How does this relate to immortality as discussed by Jesus?