Eclipse

Here is one of those art films you'll either love or hate...in my case...I'm undecided. As a film about 10 people whose lives intersect in the week leading up to a total lunar eclipse I couldn't help but think if Quentin Tarantino was gay and lived in Toronto in the early Nineties this is the type of film he might have made. I've discussed ECLIPSE with the few people I know who have actually seen it and their reactions reflect my own.....mixed. Is the acting bad or just genuine? IS the lack of plot poor writing or challenging art? Is the director just a pervert who likes to hang out in men's clubs or does he actually have a handle on the deeper human element of sexuality. To me, it really doesn't matter. I found using the aspect of the solar eclipse a nice one as within the film is also a documentary of the buzz here leading up to it. I remeber it well and Jeremy Podeswa, who would go on to direct episodes of THE L WORD, NIP/TUCK, SIX FEET UNDER, QUEER AS FOLK and CARNIVALE, captures the feeling well, especially of the gay scen ein Toronto in 1992. It is worth noting the parade footage he used had nothing to do with the eclipse but was from the celebrations of the Toronto Blue Jays winning the world series. In closing, ECLIPSE is well worth a look if you have the time, I'm just not sure what you will take away from it.