On the beach, with huge waves, the heroic knight Brock (Max von Sydow) and the black-clad Grim Reaper (Bengt Ekerot) set up a life-and-death chess game. While playing chess, the knight was looking back on his life, and what he saw and heard was consistent with the biblical picture. In the late period of the Crusades in the 14th century, the plague spread across the European continent and people were living in dire straits. Brock once met a couple in a circus. The husband believed in God and was extremely pious, while the wife was more realistic and obedient. Their mutual support made happiness within reach. The knight met the blacksmith and his wife in the woods. The blacksmith was very rude, and his wife was very coquettish. They performed a double act in the woods to passers-by, like a pair of ridiculous puppets. Finally, after a collective worship ceremony, the warrior and his friends encountered the god of death again. The helplessness and fear, anger and doubt they once had all turned into questions about life. The film won the Jury Prize at the 10th Cannes Film Festival.