Taglines: a broken piece of wood, a matchbook, a woman, a man.
Eclipse movie storyline. After an all night talk to discuss their relationship issues, Vittoria leaves the apartment of her long time fiancé, Riccardo, for good, she telling him that she no longer loves him, but she can’t really express her feelings, most specifically why, beyond that. Riccardo accepts the news but doesn’t really like it.
Upon a visit to her mother at the Stock Exchange in Rome, where she spends the better part of her days monitoring her stocks, Vittoria meets her mother’s stockbroker, Piero, a young, driven man. They are attracted to each other physically, and Piero ends up pursuing her doggedly, most specifically after a disastrous day on the market. She, in turn, is too physically attracted to him, although she is slow to let him into her life, she initially pushing him away whenever he gets physically close. She eventually does let him into her life. During their burgeoning relationship, they tell each other one thing, however their actions may tell a slightly different story.
L’Eclisse (English: “The Eclipse”) is a 1962 Italian drama film written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Alain Delon and Monica Vitti. Filmed on location in Rome and Verona, the story follows a young woman (Monica Vitti) who pursues an affair with a confident young stockbroker (Alain Delon). The film is considered the last part of a trilogy, and is preceded by L’Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961).
L’Eclisse won the Special Jury Prize at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or. Described by Martin Scorsese as the boldest film in the trilogy, it is one of the director’s more acclaimed works.
About the Story
On a Monday of July 1961, at dawn, Vittoria (Monica Vitti), a young literary translator, breaks off her relationship with Riccardo (Francisco Rabal) in his apartment in the EUR residential district of Rome, following a long night of conversation. Riccardo tries to persuade her to stay, but she tells him she no longer loves him and leaves. As she walks the deserted early-morning streets past the EUR water tower, Riccardo catches up and walks with her through a wooded area to her apartment building, where they say their final goodbyes.
Sometime later, Vittoria visits her mother (Lilla Brignone) at the frantic Rome Stock Exchange, which is very busy upon Vittoria’s entrance. A young stockbroker, Piero (Alain Delon), overhears an inside tip, rushes to purchase the stocks, and then sells them at a large profit. He introduces himself to Vittoria; he is her mother’s stock broker. Following the announcement of a colleague’s fatal heart attack and a moment of silence in memoriam, the room erupts back into frenzied activity. Outside the building, Vittoria and her mother walk to an open market nearby. Vittoria attempts to discuss her own recent breakup, but her mother is preoccupied with her earned profits.
That evening, Vittoria’s neighbor Anita (Rosanna Rory) comes to visit and they discuss the former’s breakup. Vittoria says she is depressed, disgusted, and confused. Another neighbor, Marta (Mirella Ricciardi), calls and invites them to her apartment nearby. Marta talks about the farm she and her husband have in Kenya. For a game, Vittoria dresses up as an African dancer with dark makeup, and dances around the apartment.
Marta, unamused, asks her to stop. The conversation turns sour as Marta, a colonialist, worries about “monkeys” arming themselves and threatening the minority whites. Vittoria and Anita dismiss such talk. When Marta’s dog Zeus gets free of the house, the women take off after him. Vittoria is fascinated by the sound of the fencing in the wind. Back in her apartment, Riccardo calls for her, but she hides and doesn’t answer.
The next day, Vittoria and Anita fly to Verona in a small airplane. On the way, Vittoria is fascinated by the clouds. At the airport, she watches the airplanes taking off and landing with childlike wonder. “It’s so nice here,” she tells Anita. Meanwhile, back at the Rome Stock Exchange, Piero is busy making trades. Vittoria arrives at the Stock Exchange and learns that her mother lost about 10 million lire.
Another man lost 50 million. Vittoria follows the man through the crowded streets to a small cafe, where she sees him drawing flowers on a small piece of paper and drinking mineral water before moving on. She meets Piero, and he drives her to her mother’s apartment in his Alfa Romeo Giulietta sportscar. She shows him framed family pictures and her room growing up. Piero tries to kiss her, but she avoids his pass. Piero drives back to his office on Via Po near Via Salaria, where he must break the bad news to his investors.
After work outside his office, Piero meets with a call girl he previously arranged to meet, but is disappointed that she recently changed her hair color from blonde to brunette. Deciding not to go with her, Piero drives to Vittoria’s apartment and stands outside her window. He hears her typing. After a drunk walks by and notices Vittoria at the window, Piero comes over. While they are talking, the drunk steals Piero’s sportscar.
The next morning, Piero and Vittoria arrive at the crash site where the drunk drove the car into a lake. Vittoria watches as they pull the car with the body from the water. As they walk away, Vittoria is surprised that Piero is concerned about the dents and the motor rather than the dead man. They enjoy a playful walk through a park. When they reach her building, Vittoria unties a balloon from a carriage and calling to her new friend Marta tells her to shoot the balloon with her rifle (Marta previously having shot rhinoceros and elephants in Kenya), which she does as it ascends into the sky. When they reach her building, he kisses her, but she seems uneasy. Before she leaves, she drops a piece of wood into a barrel of water.
Eclipse (1962)
Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring: Alain Delon, Monica Vitti, Francisco Rabal, Louis Seigner, Lilla Brignone, Rossana Rory, Mirella Ricciardi
Screenplay by: Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Elio Bartolini, Ottiero Ottieri
Production Design by: Piero Poletto
Cinematography by: Gianni Di Venanzo
Film Editing by: Eraldo Da Roma
Costume Design by: Bice Brichetto, Gitt Magrini
Art Direction by: Piero Poletto
Makeup Department: Franco Freda
Music by: Giovanni Fusco
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Cineriz
Release Date: April 12, 1962
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