This four-part personal essay on Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Eclisse is my entry for The Journey to Italy Blogathon hosted by Gill from Realweegiemidget Reviews and Kristina from Speakeasy. Please visit their wonderful sites 🙂
Prologue
When it comes to 1960’s Italian cinema, I always single out Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Eclisse as the crowning achievement of that decade. Yes, I rank it higher than 81/2 and The Leopard and those two equally magnificent films make up only two of many masterworks produced in that country from that era. The deservedly widely acclaimed American filmmaker Martin Scorsese has cited L’Eclisse as a step forward in storytelling. For him, it felt less like a story and more like a poem (read here). I echo his sentiments. For me, no other director has depicted alienation as poetically as Antonioni. Furthermore, L’Eclisse stands out for me as the most daring Italian film to come out of the 1960’s.
–The Plot–
During the very beginning of L’Eclisse, we are introduced to a literary translator named Vittoria, who is played here by Monica Vitti. Not too long after, we learn that she is going to end her love relationship with Riccardo (Francisco Rabal). This is not the fault of Riccardo nor of Vittoria. Vittoria’s stock-obsessed mother (Lilla Brignone) does not seem to care one way or another. Unlike her, wealth barely holds Vittoria’s interest. Neither does the casual racism of her friend neighbor Marta (Mirella Ricciardi), a white woman from Kenya. After meeting handsome stock broker Piero (Alain Delon), the two slowly fall in love with each other. Not unlike earlier, this romance is doomed due to Vittoria’s inability to emotionally connect.
Chapter 1: Alienation as a Theme in L’Eclisse
As to be expected from any film directed by the great Michelangelo Antonioni, L’Eclisse emphasizes characterization over plot and marries form with content. Whether or not L’Eclisse is your introduction to Antonioni, all of this remains essential in understanding the drama within the aforementioned director’s work. Antonioni’s work may be challenging to more average viewers (especially today’s), but once they make that valiant effort in immersing themselves into not only his visual style, but his characters (like I long ago did), I can promise you all that the journey will be a very involving one. The key word here is alienation.
At first, one is bound to dismiss Monica Vitti’s Vittoria as impulsive, but as the story progresses, it becomes much more complex than that. For example, Vittoria shares nothing in common with her money obsessed mother. Vittoria even implies later on to Piero that she does not care If she never gets rich. We also learn from Vittoria that her father died when she was very little. Limited to the first two examples alone, L’Eclisse may serve as a social commentary on our love-hate relationship with capitalism. Simultaneously, it can also be seen as a cautionary tale on the effects of fatherlessness based on that last example. Are these two aforementioned debatable metaphors largely responsible for Vittoria’s alienation? Maybe? Maybe not? Who knows, but it is worth pondering either way.
Given how Vittoria shares none of the racist beliefs of her neighbor Marta, it remains a mystery as to how she can tolerate it. True, Vittoria does don blackface at the latter’s apartment while mimicking African tribe dancing, which amuses fellow neighbor Anita (Rossana Rory), but angers Marta. Why? Marta is a white Kenyan, who believes that Kenya’s blacks are threatening that country’s white population. This stands in contrast as to why certain viewers might find it offensive, which can be best summed up as cultural appropriation. Personally, I view it not so much as outrageous, nor as Vittoria’s way of gently mocking Marta’s fear of blacks. Instead, I simply see it as Vittoria’s way of either goofing off or having fun in a harmless way. On second thought, maybe Vittoria aspires to be an African tribe woman? I would not be surprised If other dyed-in-the-wool fans of L’Eclisse (like myself) perceived it any of these ways long before I did.
Unlike everybody else, Piero intrigues Vittoria, but in the grand scheme of things, that is not saying much. For example, whenever Piero tries to offer Vittoria kisses, she rejects them. When one attempt results in Piero accidentally tearing Vittoria’s dress, the two end up having sex with each other. Soon enough, Piero talks to Vittoria about marriage, but she remains uninterested in it. Much to Piero’s annoyance, Vittoria chooses to wallow in alienation. Vittoria may be allowing alienation to consume her. This is confirmed with Vittoria’s following response to Piero along the lines of I wish I didn’t love you or that I loved you much more. Then again, the latter might imply that Vittoria wishes that Piero was not every bit as shallow as her mother, Riccardo and Marta. For example, earlier in the film, Piero (with Vittoria at the time) seems more concerned about his recovered submerged car than the dead drunkard responsible for sinking it. Unlike everybody else in Vittoria’s life, she values human life over material goods. Believe me, I am far from the first person to toy with this theory.
Expectedly or unexpectedly, Vittoria meets Piero at his office and the two make out once again. Here, Vittoria tries to overcome her alienation, but fails in the end. Before departing, Piero and Vittoria make a promise to meet each other at 8 pm later that night at the construction site (their usual hangout), but neither of the two ever show up.
Chapter 2: Analyzing The Ending of L’Eclisse
For everybody who has seen the film in it’s entirety, L’Eclisse is notable for it’s radical five minute ending that consists of a series of shots featuring it’s central urban setting. Whether it be through extreme wide shots (EWS) or otherwise, each frame remains sparsely populated by people and objects. Sound effects are heard in the background as well. Winds blowing against trees, water draining or spraying and passing vehicles serve as standout examples here. As day transitions into night, the camera moves up and captures the image of a street light with the words fine, which is Italian for end.
Click here to watch the entire sequence became even I can’t do justice in summing up why this ending is so unique.
-Interpreting the Ending-
On the surface, it would not be wrong to suggest that L’Eclisse ends with reckless abandon, but when observed at the center, the ending actually makes perfect sense. When all is said and done, Vittoria is alienated from the rest of the world and Piero is every bit as (If not more) shallow as everyone else in her life. In the end, neither of them wants to maintain the relationship, so Vittoria and Piero go their own separate ways. The final sequence suggests that the world has moved on too. At the same time, the scarcely populated imagery reflects not only Vittoria’s alienation, but also the shallowness that embodies every character in this film. This scene feels apocalyptic, which it is, albeit psychologically. A bus passenger even reads a newspaper with a front headline concerning nuclear war. Speaking of which, L’Eclisse concludes with that same foreboding musical note played near the end of the opening title sequence, which is preceded by Italian Pop singer Mina’s strangely tuneful song entitled L’Eclisse Twist. This bold transition from upbeat to downbeat (and vice versa) recurs throughout the film.
Close to sixty-three years ago, L’Eclisse came off as an existential look at a hedonistic 1960’s Italian society. Fast-forward to present day 2025, it now doubles as an existential metaphor for 21st-century society on a whole. During that time, we have all witnessed the ever increasing popularity of social media through various outlets. Yesterday, it was Facebook and Twitter (now known as X). Today, it seems to be Bluesky. Inevitably, the result has been a mixed blessing. Make no mistake, some of these outlets have been wonderful in a number of ways. Some people may not have close friends or family (sometimes neither) and these sites might have helped them tremendously in perfecting their social skills. In fact, I have been doing exactly that ever since 2012, when I first started this blog. All of these sentiments can easily apply to the IPhone as well, which first hit the market as far back as the late second quarter of 2007. Two of the many benefits provided by these devices come through phone call capability and texting. I also carry an IPhone and use it for many things. At the same time, the everyday use of social media and electronic devices for communication has not been immune to consequences.
If L’Eclisse were made today, it would arguably end with two sequences. The first would feature people communicating through social media via the Internet and an IPhone in their own house or apartment. The second scene would remain largely intact. The only difference would be that most of the very few people outside would be texting on their IPhones. According to a recent social media report (read here), out of the 5.52 billion internet users, which make up 67.5 percent of the world’s population, 5.22 billion are social media users. If that is the case, then this means that only 32.5 percent of the world’s population engages in social activities. This is an undoubtedly troubling phenomenon. Based on recent studies examining the link between social media and mental health alone (read here and here), is it any wonder why so many individuals today feel alienated?
In his masterful 1999 documentary about Italian cinema entitled My Voyage to Italy, director Martin Scorsese summed up L’Eclisse’s ending as a frightening way to end a film…but at the time it also felt liberating. The final seven minutes of Eclipse suggested to us that the possibilities in cinema were absolutely limitless (read here). I could not have stated this any more eloquently than he does. On Antonioni’s part, some of the inspiration for L’Eclisse originated from his filming of a solar eclipse in Florence (read here).
-An Intentionally Unresolved Mystery-
All (or at least most of) Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni’s films can be seen as mysteries, but not in the conventional sense (no not even Blowup). Here, in L’Eclisse, we never learn why Vittoria is so alienated, but that is precisely the point. Throughout my life, I have befriended several individuals (both male and female), who were every bit as aloof as Vittoria. I actually come off as one of those people. Occasionally that is. Thankfully, I am more sociable than aloof. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everybody. Some folks do not even have an underlying reason for their alienation, it is just simply beyond their control. Is it possible that Antonioni (privately or otherwise) himself may have suffered from alienation and used it as a recurring theme in his own films like this one? If one’s own answer to that question is yes, then he might have seen himself as the male equivalent of Vittoria and everyone else as shallow. The sparse number of people in the film’s final sequence are either hollow or they suffer from the same ailment that Vittoria suffers from. Is this official? As I mentioned earlier in this essay, who knows? Once again, it can interpreted in many different ways.
Chapter 3: Monica Vitti in L’Eclisse
Since all of her collaborations with director Michelangelo Antonioni are outstanding, the question remains as to how does one do justice in summing up actress Monica Vitti’s performance in L’Eclisse? I can answer that one effortlessly. As usual, it lies in how Vitti achieves it. In other words, Vitti executes her performance as If it were a cakewalk. As the alienated Vittoria, Vitti imbues her with charisma, mystery, playfulness and sex appeal.
–Charisma and Mystery–
As described earlier in this essay, me and quite a few of my friends have all felt a sense of alienation to varying degrees in our pasts. Whether you are an alienated or sociable devotee of L’Eclisse, all of us can agree that their is something charismatic about Monica Vitti’s Vittoria. For me, Vittoria comes off as the male equivalent of Jean-Paul Belmondo’s Michel Poiccard in Breathless. Unlike Poiccard though, Vittoria is no criminal. In L’Eclisse, Vitti’s Vittoria is a literary translator, who struggles with connecting to the world she lives in. A very credible argument can be made that her charisma lies in how relatable her ailment is to any viewer, who has ever felt alienated in their lives. Believe me, we all have.
At the same time, dyed-in-the-wool alienated and hospitable fans of L’Eclisse are probably still trying to solve the mystery as to why Vittoria is so aloof. The answer is best summed up by a line said by Vittoria to Piero consisting of I don’t know. Let’s face it, most (If not all) of us have probably uttered this whenever anybody asks us why we feel alienated. After all, If we can’t give a proper answer, why should we as viewers expect one from Vittoria? This is precisely what makes Vittoria not only a fascinating character, but an authentic one as well. Not unlike her, in real life, some people are simply unable to justify their alienation.
–Playfulness and Sex Appeal–
Fortunately, based on my experiences with some others, those who suffer from alienation (occasionally or otherwise) have been able to get through life in their own ways. Half of the time in L’Eclisse, Vittoria displays a playful streak when it comes to her relationship with her neighbors (Anita and Marta) and later, stock broker Piero. The former is characterized by comedic irreverence when Vittoria dons blackface during a small party with Anita and Marta. The lighter moments of her romance with Piero is the film’s purest expression of playfulness.
Though I never donned blackface (or any other kind for that matter) when it came to amusing myself during my occasional alienation period, I would resort to nonsensical humor (quoting lines from Aqua Teen Hunger Force among others) or doing an impersonation of a popular figure by making them all sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger. All privately of course. To put it in other words, this is me being silly. When it comes to that last example, all of you would have to see it to know what I am talking about. Other times, it comes through my trademark gentleness. For example, I always wanted to be like the late great Fred Rogers and since none of us can, I do the next best thing. I rise to the occasion to be as kind and caring as I possibly can in spite of my then alienated state. Other times, I will go swimming at my fitness center’s pool, write a blog entry or just talk to myself in private. I am by no means comparable to Vittoria, but she is someone we can all debatably relate to.
Along with the handsome Alain Delon as Piero, the beautiful Monica Vitti oozes sex appeal as Vittoria. Team these two European cinematic icons together and you get one of (If not) the sexiest romantic duos ever depicted in an Italian film. Perhaps the most erotic scene comes when Delon’s Piero accidentally tears part of Vittoria’s dress and soon enough, the two have sex in a bedroom. The other sex scene is set in an office and blends eroticism with playfulness. Other times it is through communication during day and night (inside and outside). When it comes to clothing, Delon and Vitti could not be more stylish. Dressed in a tie and a suit, Delon looks every bit as cool as his hitman character Jef Costello in Le Samourai. Whether she is clad in a blouse, dress or otherwise, as usual, Vitti stands out as the epitome of elegance.
When Vitti died close to three years ago in 2022, Italy’s then Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini called her the Queen of Italian cinema as well as a great artist and a great Italian. Italy’s then former Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Vitti made Italian cinema shine around the world. In addition, Draghi added that she was an actress of great wit and extraordinary talent, she conquered generations of Italians with her spirit, her bravura, her beauty (read here). Neither of these sentiments have ever been expressed more poetically than in Vitti’s four collaborations with Antonioni. L’Avventura, La Notte, Red Desert, The Mystery of Oberwald and here in L’Eclisse.
Chapter 4: The Vision of L’Eclisse
Alienation is a recurring theme in Michelangelo Antonioni’s work and in L’Eclisse, it (as usual) coincides perfectly with the aforementioned Italian director’s mise en scene. Architecture, compositions and long takes serve as the three standout aspects here.
–Architecture–
In L’Eclisse, modernism contrasts with everyday people through Antonioni’s use of (more-or-less) modern architecture. In one scene, we get an extreme wide shot of Vittoria walking down the sidewalk. Divided by a post and rail fence, the left side of the screen is dominated by a large tree and under it is Vittoria. The right side is dominated by a large modernist tower hovering over trees that are smaller by comparison. Considering that Vittoria is presented as very small in this frame, it can be argued that this whole image is a metaphor for the everyday individual’s struggle to cope with modernity. Vittoria comes off as tiny in another image of her staring outside a window and to the left, the screen is filled with giant buildings (apartments or otherwise). When Vittoria is out at night looking for her dog, on the left, we get streetlights and a fence the size of a baseball stadium and in the center is Vittoria tinier than everything else once again. Another image features Vittoria with Piero sitting on the grass and facing them (from a distance) is a building. This is the scene where Piero gets quietly frustrated in trying to understand Vittoria. Given that Piero represents modernism himself (he is a stock broker), that alone might explain Vittoria’s reluctance to maintain a longterm romance with him. I mean let’s face it, modernity barely holds Vittoria’s interest. I can think of many more, but I will limit it to these perfect examples, which are executed similarly in the film’s much discussed final sequence.
–Compositions–
As with all of Antonioni’s work, L’Eclisse is shaped by it’s visually expressive compositions. Vittoria’s breakup with Riccardo as one example. In that scene, Vittoria is standing on the left side of the screen in front of a messy painting of sorts and on the right side features Riccardo next to the painting. He stands in front of a background with a window and furniture. A companion to this shot is when Vittoria stands in the back of a door with a square window and sitting on a comfy chair to the far right side of the screen is Riccardo. This might symbolize Vittoria as an independent woman and Riccardo as a member of the bourgeoisie, which he is. . Another frame features Vittoria standing behind a steel gate, which emphasizes her isolation. Vittoria staring by the right window as opposed to in between the two at the dark room from across is a metaphor for her alienation. During the mock African tribe dancing sequence, a bed is placed in the middle of the screen and Vittoria (in blackface) standing on a bed with the traditional spear and Marta sitting down on a chair on the right edge of the screen. Shortly after, we see Marta standing in the background of the bed (Vittoria is nowhere in sight) and she is shaped by dark lighting. This frame illustrates white Kenyan Marta’s fear of Kenya’s blacks by debatably asking us viewers to visualize how she sees them. In the case of Marta, she basically sees them as savages. Is her view wrongheaded? Of course it is. The scenes inside and outside the Rome stock exchange hilariously (albeit, in a dry sense) illustrate chaos. With the exception of Vittoria, everybody wants to partake in the Italian economic miracle. In between a tuscan order, lies Piero on the left and Vittoria on the right. What does this symbolize? Well, If one is an independent thinker and the other a conforming stock broker, it means that this romance is bound to fail. For every close (close-up or otherwise) shot of Vittoria and Piero together, we get as many distant shots. An outside evening scene features communicating with Vittoria from a distance. Piero is standing talking to her, but she is making eye contact from her house and he is far away compared. A house door stands in between Vittoria and Piero when they are kissing in another scene by pressing their respective mouths against the glass window. My theory is confirmed when the two break their promise of meeting at their usual spot near the end of the film. I can name plenty more examples, but these are the ones I want to limit it to.
–Long Takes–
L’Eclisse’s use of long takes is in synch with the film’s deadpan tone. Since the film serves as a metaphor for emotional emptiness within modern society, it is only fitting that Antonioni would utilize long takes to visually depict the drama. At first glance, it may look unfitting in a film about the chaotic contemporary world, but once viewers take into account that alienation is it’s primary theme, everything starts clicking together. Vittoria can’t connect with it and as a result, the slow pacing is intentional on Antonioni’s part. Each and every sequence is not only elegant, but relaxing as well.
Epilogue
Not unlike Journey to Italy before it, L’Eclisse dramatically and stylistically redefined narrative film for a future generation of cinephiles and filmmakers. Three examples of the latter include esteemed directors like the aforementioned Scorsese, Richard Linklater and Wong Kar-wai (read here and here). As for the former, I count myself among Jake Cole and Jonathan Rosenbaum (read here and here) as the three of many cinema enthusiasts championing L’Eclisse. As the third film in Michelangelo Antonioni’s trilogy on modernity and it’s discontents, L’Eclisse serves as his thesis. In this one, the alienated relationship between modernity and everyday society really hits close to home in every single way imaginable. Featuring one of (If not) the most talked about ending in cinematic history, L’Eclisse emerges as quite possibly the boldest Italian film of it’s decade.
Click here to watch a 50th anniversary trailer
Click here to watch Scorsese’s commentary on L’Eclisse
Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers.
What parts of my L’Eclisse essay stood out for you readers in particular?
What links in my L’Eclisse essay did you readers love the most?
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