Review of L'Eclisse (1962) by Al M — 11 Aug 2010
L'Eclisse is perhaps one of the slowest two hours of cinema you can ever watch, but is also one of the most beautiful and profound. Antonioni finishes out his trilogy on modern malaise, which was preceeded by L'Avventura and La Notte, with a bang.
Few films feature such staggering images--Anontioni sculpts his mise-en-scene in a way that leaves any other director in the dust. Antonioni's flilms perhaps most closely parallel those of Bergman in their existential themes of absence and lack, but Antonioni makes these themes all his own by examining the effects of technology and urbanization upon the human.
Antonioni's images of modern urban landscapes are simutlaneously beautiful and haunting because they depict the cold lack of the organic and natural elements of life. Antonioni's ending is perhaps one of the most brilliant in film history because it contiousnly builds up viewer expectations only to ultimately deny them.
A tale of love gone wrong in the postmodern era, L'Eclisse is about the eclipse of meaning and purposeful identity in modern life--it is about the absence that becomes absolutely present at the heart of our lives.
Hauntingly beautiful and enigmatic, L'Eclisse is a true masterpiece of the cinematic form.
This review of L'Eclisse (1962) was written by Al M on 11 Aug 2010.
L'Eclisse has generally received very positive reviews.
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