Eclipse

Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Screenwriters: Jeremy Podeswa

Institute History

  • 1995 Sundance Film Festival

Description

In Eclipse, the sun and moon aren’t totally to blame for the sexual antics. In the days before Toronto will be plunged into darkness, ten couples come together in a round of love, desire, and need. The players are Henry, an Asian-Canadian hustler; Brian, a middle-aged businessman; Silvie, a French-Canadian domestic; Gabriel, a Central American refugee; Norman, an immigration lawyer; Sarah, his Venezuelan wife; Angelo, a sexually precocious teenager; Michael, a self-absorbed artist; Jim, a contemplative actor; and Carlotta, a relentless party girl. Telling how they get together would be giving away everything that makes Eclipse such a delight.

The most obvious metaphor is the way the two celestial bodies mirror the crossing paths of the couples, but the comparison stops here. In an eclipse, the sun and moon move gracefully, and life gets back to normal, whereas these couplings are raw and real, leaving both characters and the audience changed.

Jeremy Podeswa, the writer/director, explains, “It is usually only in the most intimate moments that a person’s true character is revealed, and these are the moments I’m most interested in.” In Eclipse he digs into our very psyche, creating a refreshing antidote to the “Just say no” eighties.

— John Cooper

Screening Details

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