Total Eclipse - The Rimbaud and Verlaine Affair
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Total Eclipse - The Rimbaud and Verlaine Affair |
| Original title | Total Eclipse |
| Country of production | England , France , Belgium , Italy |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1995 |
| length | 111 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Agnieszka Holland |
| script | Christopher Hampton |
| production | Jean-Pierre Ramsay Levi |
| music | Jan AP Kaczmarek |
| camera | Yorgos Arvanitis |
| cut | Isabel Lorente |
| occupation | |
| |
Total Eclipse - The Rimbaud and Verlaine Affair is a feature film by the Polish director Agnieszka Holland . Christopher Hampton wrote the play that served as a model and the script.
action
The film is about the self-destructive homosexual relationship between French poets Arthur Rimbaud ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) and Paul Verlaine ( David Thewlis ).
Both pioneered symbolism and had a profound impact on 20th century French literature.
The elder Verlaine meets with Rimbaud's sister in Paris. She demands that all of Rimbaud's offensive letters and poems be surrendered to be burned. Verlaine recalls the unconventional relationship with Rimbaud:
In September 1871, Verlaine, who lived in Paris, received a letter from Rimbaud, who was only 16 years old. Verlaine was so enthusiastic about the poems enclosed with the letter that he invited Rimbaud and offered him to live with him and his wife Mathilde. In October 1871 Verlaine becomes father of a son, but his marriage breaks up because of his relationship with Rimbaud: his wife accuses him of loving Rimbaud more than her, which is apparently true. He commutes between Rimbaud, his mother and Mathilde. In July 1872 Verlaine left Paris with Rimbaud, both of which then lived in northeastern France, England and Belgium. After a while alone, they fall in love and have sex with each other. Verlaine feels exploited by Rimbaud, who says that love does not exist, but cannot leave him: he loves his beautiful body, but also admires his genius as a poet. Rimbaud says to Verlaine, “You know I like you very much.” They separate and make up repeatedly. When Verlaine answers Rimbaud's question whether he loves him, he asks him to put his hand on the table, which Verlaine does, whereupon Rimbaud stabs him in the hand with a knife and says: “The unbearable is that nothing is unbearable is. ”Then there is sexual intercourse. Both drink a lot of absinthe and also take drugs, but they fertilize each other in their writing. Numerous important works were created during this time. Verlaine treats his wife badly: when drunk he rapes her, burns her hair and beats her so that she fled to her mother. Later on, Verlaine, repeatedly visited and supported by his mother, in vain contacting his wife, is often depressed. When Verlaine is in London with Rimbaud, his wife files for a divorce. Rimbaud says: "I lead a meaningless, lazy life in poverty as the concubine of a bald, ugly, aging, boozy poet who clings to me because his wife does not want to take him back" and "Your disposition is as ugly as your body. When he finally insults him with “You look like a cunt”, Verlaine leaves him alone in London and travels to Brussels.
Rimbaud seduces Verlaine, who, far from any convention, finds their relationship liberating and rediscovers his creativity as a writer. Their relationship is characterized by violence, hostility and repeated separations and reconciliations. Verlaine abuses his wife and eventually leaves her. He and Rimbaud undertake journeys that take them via England to Belgium, where the decisive scandal comes: Verlaine shoots Rimbaud in hand with a pistol he bought to end his own life and then becomes Sentenced to two years in prison for sodomy and dangerous assault. While in custody, Verlaine found God and became religious. Rimbaud completed Une Saison en enfer (1873) and finished his artistic work at the age of 21.
Verlaine's attempts to reconcile with Rimbaud after his imprisonment fail. At their last meeting, Rimbaud forces Verlaine to decide: "Choose between my body or my soul!" When Verlaine replies: "I want your body", Rimbaud replies: "You will have to find someone else", turns away and leaves him.
Rimbaud traveled to Europe and Africa in the following years. He operates a trading base in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). He fell ill with bone cancer and returned to Marseille after 1891, where his leg was amputated. His sister takes care of him until his death.
She tells old Verlaine that a priest had made Rimbaud's confession and showed him repentance. As a result, only the censored versions of his work would be preserved. Verlaine apparently agrees, but when Rimbaud's sister leaves, he tears up the address card she gave him. Rimbaud shows himself to him in a vision and confesses his love, which Verlaine has earned with his last act of rebellion.
Locations
The film was shot in Paris, France, Blankenberge and Antwerp, Belgium, and in Djibouti.
Praise and criticism
Leonardo DiCaprio's acting performance and his courage to play this role were widely praised.
It was criticized that in the film the outstanding importance of the two poets Verlaine and Rimbaud and their influence on the literature of their time is not clear enough.
It was also criticized that mostly only the unhappy and dramatic scenes of the two were shown in the film, but little of their happy moments.
Prices
David Thewlis was named Best Actor at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival for his role as Verlaine .
Trivia
- River Phoenix was originally slated for the role of Rimbaud, but the role was changed due to his sudden death.
- John Malkovich was originally supposed to play the role of Verlaine, but he eventually turned it down.
- David Thewlis shaved off parts of his hair on top of his head to look like Verlaine.
- Mistake in the film: In Café André, where the adult Isabelle Rimbaud meets Paul Verlaine, the writing on the window is in Helvetica, a font that was only invented in 1954.