Total Eclipse (film)
| Total Eclipse | |
|---|---|
U.S. theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Agnieszka Holland |
| Written by | Christopher Hampton |
| Produced by | Jean-Pierre Ramsay-Levi Philip Hinchcliffe Victor Glynn Co-Prod |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Yorgos Arvanitis |
| Edited by | Isabelle Lorente |
| Music by | Jan A.P. Kaczmarek |
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes[1] |
| Countries | United Kingdom France Belgium Italy United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | €6,780,000[2] |
| Box office | $340,139 (US)[3] |
Total Eclipse is a 1995 historical drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland,[4] based on a 1967 play by Christopher Hampton, 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 (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Paul Verlaine (David Thewlis).[5] Warner Bros. has included the film in the catalogue of Warner Archive Collection.[6]
Hampton's play had premiered in September 1968 at the Royal Court Theatre in London[7] with Victor Henry as Rimbaud, John Grillo as Verlaine, Michele Dotrice as Mathilde Verlaine, Nigel Hawthorne as Mauté de Fleurville and Kathleen Byron as Mme Mauté de Fleurville;[8] a televised version of the play was broadcast on BBC2 on 10 April 1973, with Ian Hogg as Verlaine and Joseph Blatchley as Rimbaud.[9]
Plot
An older Paul Verlaine meets Arthur Rimbaud'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 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 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 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 when a drunken and enraged Verlaine shoots Rimbaud and is sentenced to a fine and two years in prison for sodomy and grievous bodily harm.
In prison, Verlaine converts to Christianity, to his former lover's disgust. After 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 age 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 her brother had accepted confession from a priest soon 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. Verlaine, drinking absinthe (to which he has become addicted), sees a vision of the sixteen-year-old Rimbaud. The vision includes a young Rimbaud walking alone on a mountain range, Verlaine proclaiming they were both happy together, and Rimbaud claiming to have finally found eternity.
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Arthur Rimbaud
- David Thewlis as Paul Verlaine
- Romane Bohringer as Mathilde Mauté
- Dominique Blanc as Isabelle Rimbaud
- Felicie Pasotti Cabarbaye as Isabelle as a child
- Nita Klein as Rimbaud's mother
- James Thiérrée as Frédéric
- Emmanuelle Oppo as Vitalie
- Denise Chalem as Mrs. Mauté de Fleurville
- Andrzej Seweryn as Mr. Mauté de Fleurville
- Christopher Thompson as Carjat
- Bruce Van Barthold as Aicard
- Christopher Chaplin as Charles Cros
- Christopher Hampton as The Judge
- Mathias Jung as André
- Aza Declercq as prostitute
Home media
In 1999, a DVD edition of the film was released. It features both widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film on the same disc, as well as the film trailer.
The soundtrack by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek was released by Sony Classical on CD SK 62037 in 1995; the Warsaw Symphony and Orchestra of the Eighth Day were conducted by Krzesimir Dębski and Tadeusz Karolak.
Reception
Critical response
According to Rotten Tomatoes, 24% of 17 reviews are positive.[10] Review aggregator Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 17 critics,[11] noting it received a lukewarm reception. Although some reviewers criticised DiCaprio's lack of a French accent, others praised his performance as "daring" and "dynamic".[12]
A Variety review by Todd McCarthy describes it 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".[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Total Eclipse (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 22 November 1996. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ "Total Eclipse (1995)". JPBox-Office. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ "Total Eclipse (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ "Total Eclipse". TCM Shop. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Ewa Mazierska; Michael Goddard (2014). Polish Cinema in a Transnational Context. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 290–. ISBN 978-1-58046-468-0.
- ^ "Total Eclipse (1995) (MOD)". WB Shop. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Stanford University page for Total Eclipse, play, accessed 27 January 2026.
- ^ Total Eclipse world premiere cast reproduced from The Stage on 19 September 1968 (page 15), accessed 27 January 2026.
- ^ Programme details for Total Eclipse on BBC2 England, accessed 27 January 2026.
- ^ "Total Eclipse (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ "Total Eclipse Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Every Leonardo DiCaprio Movie Ranked From Worst to Best". Metacritic. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (11 September 1995). "Total Eclipse". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.