A disillusioned knight returns home from the Crusades to find his home ravaged by the Black Death. He is soon confronted by the Grim Reaper, who tells him it is his time. In order to prolong his life, he challenges the spectral figure to a game of chess, and as they play, he reflects on life, death and the existence of God. Ingmar Bergman's drama, starring Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot. In Swedish and Latin.

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.