Bleak view of human relations

Eclipse
Written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa
Opens February 15, George Cinemas, St Kilda, Melbourne and Verona Cinema, Paddington, Sydney
Reviewed by Margaret Allan Canadian film makers have produced some good films in recent years with successes like Jesus of Montreal and more recently, films exploring alternative sexualities such as Love and Human Remains and this latest Canadian production, Eclipse. Eclipse tell the story of 10 linked sexual encounters in the week proceeding a total eclipse. As the celestial phenomenon draws near everyone starts to go a little sun and moon crazy; liaisons start, some fervent and passionate, others calculated and endured without much feeling. The story is about 10 characters whose sexual activities form a circle of encounters. Brian (John Gilbert), a middle-aged professional, picks up Henry (Von Flores) on the street for sex, then goes back to his affair with the French Canadian woman, Sylvie (Pascale Montpetit) who cleans his house. Sylvie then has a passionate encounter with a Latin American, Gabriel (Manuel Aranguiz) in her English language class, who moves on to a lust-filled moment with Sarah (Maria Del Mar), the wife of his immigration lawyer. This chain continues for all 10 characters. In most of the liaisons, one or both of the characters involved seems to have something to hide. This is apparently writer and director Jeremy Podeswa's intention in using a total eclipse as a metaphor — the moon hiding the sun. Various ancient cultures had differing explanations of the phenomenon of a total eclipse: the celestial bodies making love, or the sun abandoning us on earth for a short time. Eclipse is an interesting and enjoyable film, although it presents a fairly bleak picture of human relations. It would have been more enjoyable if even one of the gay relationships was free of guilt, monetary exchange or acute emotional turmoil. One interesting aspect was that the two characters whose coupling had the most positive potential social interaction woke up in bed without even remembering how it was that they came to be there together! And theirs was the least emotionally destructive of the often very brief relationships in this film. The majority of the encounters are gay, and Podeswa has attempted to introduce a multicultural feel. In the relationship between the two Latin American characters, Gabriel and Sarah, he also briefly explores their class differences. Overall, Eclipse is quite a stylish film, much of it shot in black and white and later coloured with an eerie blue wash. This first of Podeswa's feature films is an impressive debut.