bkoganbing Total Eclipse is the story of the relationship between two men who definitely made their mark on French literature. Poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud have been compared to Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, but aside from being gay the pairs have little in common. Wilde is a universally recognized talent who had the misfortune to fall in love with a spoiled young aristocrat in Douglas who had some pretenses to literary talent. Douglas was spoiled, but both he and Wilde conducted themselves well in public.Verlaine and Rimbaud were a pair of talented louts as Total Eclipse shows us in graphic detail. Wilde married for convention's sake at the time and did have two sons and was a loving husband. His is a Victorian Brokeback Mountain story. Verlaine was a drunk and an abusive husband who regularly beat on his wife and child who was totally fascinated by young Rimbaud. He was ten years older than Rimbaud in real life, the film does make him seem a great deal older. He did read some of Rimbaud's work as a teenage prodigy and sent for the country lad. You can feel sorry for Wilde and do in the films that tell his story. Verlaine as played by David Thewlis is a really hateful person, gay audiences can't work up any sympathy for him.However Rimbaud as played by Leonardo DiCaprio by look and talent makes you perfectly understand why Rimbaud became so obsessed with him. Verlaine was a political man, he was a supporter of the Paris Commune and was in fear of the police who would have loved to nail him on a morals charge if not on a political one. Rimbaud didn't have a political opinion in the world, he was a peasant kid from the Ardennes who partied hardy, drove Verlaine crazy and jealous, but both learned and fed off each other artistically. I found it interesting that Rimbaud and Verlaine flee to Great Britain of all places to be freer, the same place that in the next generation would persecute poor Oscar Wilde.DiCaprio and Thewlis play a couple of louts, but a fascinating pair of louts. Total Eclipse has both these guys eclipsing the supporting cast around them, that probably is the main weakness of the film. Still fans of both men shouldn't miss this film.

m-vinteuil In concept and execution, Total Eclipse is flawed. It is not a biopic, but a snapshot of the affair between Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. For the artistically minded to question love and the insanity of genius, and not to follow the significant footsteps of the bohemian poets. However, it fails due to a kind of Americanisation of period costume drama. There is a mishmash of accents (American, British, French) undermining the nuance of the French tongue. I still can't understand why trained actors don't seem to have even a basic grasp of high school French, or why the producers and the director were scared of subtitles in an 'Art house' film. It's difficult to buy DiCaprio as Rimbaud (although in appearance he is well cast) as with an American accent he always seems obnoxious even when it is not his intention. Delivering fragments of Rimbaud's poems and philosophy in sound bites renders them hollow. Although he is aesthetically and historically on the mark, the tone and spirit of the portrayal is completely wrong.Another conceit is that this film marginalises Verlaine. The opening interstitial might as well read "Verlaine's poems were OK, but who cares?" Arthur was known to have an admiration for Verlaine long before the two met, and the love between them genuine. Here though, it is painted as a vampiric relationship of convenience. Paul clinging to Arthur for fear of being alone, Arthur bleeding Paul's influence and money dry.Hackneyed scenes of Rimbaud having 'visions' of the final years of his life had me gagging, and are inexcusable. The editing of the entire piece is atrocious, particularly Paul's trial. And there are inaccuracies for the sake of ludicrous symbolism. Verlaine shot Rimbaud in the wrist. Though as it is portrayed here, he is shot through the center of his hand, to tack on a gauche Christ metaphor. You are never assimilated into the world these people live in because of the accent problem, and the energies of every cast member shooting off in different directions. Making the effort, you will find yourself wanting to like this film more than it will allow you to. The intention is to make you cry at the end, as other critics attest, but I fail to see how.Total Eclipse tried very hard to alienate its audience, the problem is that it has largely succeeded. It sours the romantic notion of Rimbaud and Verlaine for those familiar with their work, and has the unfamiliar asking basic straightforward questions which it makes no attempt to answer. "Why would Verlaine keep putting up with Rimbaud's abuse", "Why was Rimbaud considered a genius? He seemed like an arsehole".

Stacey B Arthur is a cocky teen who's in-your-face poetry has caught the eye of Paul, a traditional French poet. When Arthur is invited to Paul's home to meet his family, they are shocked at the belching, thieving, insulting, insanity that is Arthur Rimbaud. However, Paul is enlivened by him and puts him up. Arthur shows no gratitude and makes a public spectacle by climbing to the roof stark naked and throwing his clothing into the street. Oddly, Paul is enchanted with Arthur's wild and unpredictable nature. They begin an oddly matched homosexual relationship over flowing with absinthe, violence, obscenity and even more insanity. They travel, urinate on other poet's works, eat hay from fields, beat each other, hate each other, love each other and eventually someone is shot. The movie is choppy, understandably jumping from scene to scene as the film is based on letters they exchanged. It's a bit hard to follow and a bumpy ride, and definitely a movie you'll love to hate.

its_raining247 Total Eclipse really is the best film I have ever seen. Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant, 13 years have past since it's release and he still has to top his performance in this film. I was familiar with the Rimbaud-Veraline story before seeing the film and I personally fin Arthur Rimbaud one of the best poets ever. He is brilliant and this biopic is too. Great acting, a marvel of a film, great scenic locations and that soundtrack!!! I loved it, the music is wonderful, I thought it was a breathtaking film, I really did love it. The storyline, the characters, the subject matter, the actors, the music, the locations, the whole film! it truly is a masterpiece. I encourage anyone who likes dramas and biopics because this is one of the best biopics. Arthur Rimbaud himself would be proud with the efforts of the cast and crew because they bring his life story to life again, for our generation and to be honest, they do him proud.