Review of L'Eclisse (1962) by Wut S — 29 Sep 2007

Antonioni L'Eclisse begins with an end of an engagement between Vittorio (Monica Vitti) and Ricardo (Francisco Rabal). She lingers around his place, he tries to reconcile, she pushes him, he gets angry, she tries to walk out, he pulls her back apologetically, she hesitates, he sighs, she walks out into the dawn, she looks back hoping to see him, he's not there, she continues, his car suddenly pulls over near her, he walks with her, they arrive at her place, he says goodbye, she says goodbye, they part, she looks from the window, he's not there, and we see that her face shows mixed emotions, an indecipherable expression that contributes to the film's cryptic resonance.

After traveling to Zimbabwe with new friends, Vittoria comes back and learns that her mother has lost millions in stocks. She doesn't seem to care, and at this point she starts to develop a relationship with Piero (Alain Delon), a young stock broker who works for her mother. Materialistic in nature, energetic and youthful, Piero seems initially lost in his chaotic work, or as he calls it, "passion." Only until his clients are doomed with a rapid devaluation in their stocks, he starts to gain major interest in one of his clients' daughter. Initially, Vittoria is unable to progress the relationship any further--she finds Piero attractive, flirts with him, but she hesitates to let him kiss her. She idealizes love, but could not define it; every turnaround, she expects to see a man pursuing her to be there, even though she has rejected them coldly. Is this film, then, is about unachievable love and disjointed individualities? Perhaps, but the inconclusive ending invokes various possible interpretations, or serves as a deconstruction of the film's narratives to reveal the important, passive "space" which the characters have lived upon.