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| Images Courtesy of Lenfilm |
Based loosely on a screenplay adaptation by the Strugatskys
themselves of their 1974 novel Definitely Maybe or A Billion Years
Before the End of the World before being adjusted with further
contributions by Yuri Arabov and Pyotr Kadochnikov, Lenfilm’s production of Days
of Eclipse seems to glide atop the Turkmenistan desert landscapes predating
drone photography in a series of extraordinary transitions before landing on
the film’s eponymous hero child doctor Dmitry Malyanov (Alexey
Ananishnov). Filmed in near
monochromatic black-and-white with just faint hints of color in the schema
lensed in panoramic 2.35:1 widescreen by Sergei Yurizditsky with an
experimental sound design co-rendered by Yuri Khanin and Vladimir Persov, the
film follows Malyanov’s surreal misadventures working as a newly stationed
medical doctor posited in a remote impoverished section of Turkmenistan.
The setup seems simple enough at first, shifting the novel’s
focus from astrophysics to religion, with Malyanov conducting experimental
research on the effects of theological practices on human health with the young
newcomer doctor concluding religion is beneficial to one’s physiological well-being. However, as he takes to putting his thesis
down on paper, our protagonist encounters one increasingly surreal, borderline incoherent episode
after another in such a manner as to derail him from his writings, leading Malyanov
to believe some sort of implacable supernatural force is at play. As the film’s then-nebulous narrative starts
to intensify for the already perplexed protagonist, director Sokurov and his
editor Leda Semyonova start playing freely with running long-takes and
hyperkinetic editing to further alter our perception of the events unfolding.
Although considered to be only loosely connected to the
source material and being perhaps the densest, most Neorealist Sokurov work yet
comprised of a cast of professional as well as non-actors with scenes that can
easily lose even the most patient of viewership, Days of Eclipse is nevertheless
a striking slice of Turkmenistan on film through the prism of the Strugatsky’s
surreal science fiction narrative. More
than anything it represented for its director Sokurov his first real successful
theatrical release as his prior film projects Mournful Unconcern and The
Lonely Voice of Man were banned by Soviet authorities up until 1988.
After taking home four awards in 1988, in
2000 the film was then included on the list of 100 best films in the history of
Russian Cinema. While not the first pick
for where to start with the unique and formidable film master (Russian Ark being
the best for the uninitiated), Days of Eclipse is truly an interesting
Strugatsky film adaptation that unfortunately doesn’t quite have the ongoing
discourse surrounding it which Stalker and Hard to Be a God still
do to this day. A shame as it is no less mysterious or thought provoking as those equally renowned and celebrated Eastern European science fiction epics made by one of Russia's greatest directors still working today.
--Andrew Kotwicki
