L’Eclisse

The concluding chapter of Michelangelo Antonioni’s informal trilogy on contemporary malaise (following L’Avventura and La Notte), L’Eclisse tells the story of a young woman (Monica Vitti) who leaves one lover (Francisco Rabal) and drifts into a relationship with another (Alain Delon). Monica Vitti, at the height of her enigmatic screen presence, sums it up longingly when she laments “Vorrei non amarti o amarti molto meglio” (“I wish I didn’t love you or that I loved you more”).

Using the architecture of Rome as a backdrop for the doomed affair, Antonioni achieves the apotheosis of his style in this return to the theme that preoccupied him the most: the difficulty of connection in an alienating modern world.

This film is part of our tribute to Monica Vitti.