L’Eclisse (1962)

Italy 126m, B&W
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni; Cast: Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal, Louis Seigner

L’Eclisse is a visually impressive film that begins with Vittoria, a young woman who is depressed after her break-up with Riccardo, an older man who she is no longer in love with. Initially finding some comfort among her girlfriends, she eventually strikes up a new relationship with Piero, her mother’s stockbroker, who we are introduced to amid a number of frenzied scenes at the Stock Exchange in Rome. As Vittoria, Monica Vitti is captivating as the emotionally detached young woman who, like Piero, represents a disaffected and lonely generation of young people who are increasingly obsessed with materialism, and simply drifting though their lives (Klaus Ming February 2015).