''Total Eclipse'' is a 1995

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

, based on a 1967 play by

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

, who also adapted it for the screen. Based on letters and poems, it presents a historically accurate account of the relationship between 19th-century French poets

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

(

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

) and

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

( David Thewlis). Warner Bros. has included the film in the catalogue of Warner Archive Collection.

Plot

The older

meets

's sister Isabelle in a café in Paris. Isabelle and her mother want Verlaine to hand over any copies he may still have of Rimbaud's poems so that they can burn them. Verlaine reflects on the relationship he formed with Rimbaud, beginning when the teenaged Rimbaud had sent his poetry to Verlaine from his home in the provinces in 1871. Verlaine impulsively invited him to his rich father-in-law's home in Paris, where he lives with his young, pregnant wife. Rimbaud displays no sense of manners or decency, scandalising Verlaine's pretentious,

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

in-laws. The 27-year-old Verlaine is seduced by the 16-year-old Rimbaud's physical body as well as by the originality of his mind. The staid respectability of married life and easy, middle-class surroundings had been stifling Verlaine's admittedly

sybaritic Sybaris (; ) was an important ancient Greek city situated on the coast of the Gulf of Taranto in modern Calabria, Italy. The city was founded around 720 BC by Achaean and Troezenian settlers and the Achaeans also went on to found the near ...

literary talent. Rimbaud acts as sadistically to Verlaine as does Verlaine to his young wife, whom he eventually deserts. A violent, itinerant relationship ensues between the two poets, the climax of which arrives in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

when a drunken and enraged Verlaine shoots Rimbaud and is sentenced a fine and two years in prison for

sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...

and grievous bodily harm. In prison, Verlaine converts to Christianity, to his former lover's disgust. Upon release he meets Rimbaud in Germany, vainly and mistakenly seeking to revive the relationship. The two men part, never to meet again. Bitterly renouncing literature in any form, Rimbaud travels the world alone, finally settling in Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia) to run a "trading post". There he has a mistress. A tumour in his right knee forces him back to France where his leg is amputated. Nevertheless, the cancer spreads and he dies at the age of 37. When he dies, the image of one of his most famous poems, ''Le Dormeur du val'', appears. During her conversation with Verlaine, Isabelle Rimbaud asserts that her brother had accepted confession from a priest right before he died, showing Christian penitence, which is why only the censored versions of his poetry should survive. Verlaine pretends to agree but tears up her card after she leaves. Later, Verlaine, drinking

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

(to which he has become addicted), sees a vision of the sixteen-year-old Rimbaud. The film ends with the young Rimbaud walking alone on a mountain range, Verlaine proclaiming that they were both happy together, and Rimbaud claiming to have finally found eternity.

Cast

Home media

In 1999, a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

edition of the film was released. It features both a widescreen and fullscreen version of the film on the same disc as well as the film trailer.

Reception

Critical response

''Total Eclipse'' has an approval rating of 22% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 18 reviews, and an average rating of 4.5/10, against a 60% score with audiences.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gives the film a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". A Variety review by

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

describes Total Eclipse as a "poorly executed biographical film that fails to capture the artistic achievements of poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, instead focusing excessively on their destructive personal relationship, which detracts from the film's intended exploration of their artistic contributions."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Total Eclipse (Film) 1995 films 1990s biographical drama films 1995 independent films 1995 LGBTQ-related films American biographical drama films American erotic drama films American independent films American LGBTQ-related films Belgian biographical drama films Belgian independent films Belgian LGBTQ-related films British biographical drama films British independent films British LGBTQ-related films French biographical drama films French independent films French LGBTQ-related films Italian biographical drama films Italian independent films Italian LGBTQ-related films 1990s English-language films English-language Belgian films English-language French films English-language Italian films Films about writers Films about male bisexuality Cultural depictions of Arthur Rimbaud Films set in the 1870s Films set in the 1890s Films shot in Antwerp Films directed by Agnieszka Holland Films with screenplays by Christopher Hampton Films scored by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek 1990s erotic drama films 1995 drama films Biographical films about poets LGBTQ-related romantic drama films 1990s American films 1990s British films 1990s French films English-language independent films English-language biographical drama films English-language erotic drama films LGBTQ-related independent films