Days of the Eclipse
Days of the Eclipse
‘Adieu, Babylone’; Adieu, Tarkovsky
This chapter considers Days of the Eclipse (1988). An idiosyncratic adaptation of the Strugatsky Brothers's 1974 novella One Billion Years to the End of the World (Definitely Maybe), Days of the Eclipse received a wide range of positive reviews and acclaim at festivals worldwide, leading to its theatrical release in numerous countries. In the West, it was Fredric Jameson who contributed most to its prestige, illuminating the aspects of “Soviet magic realism” to be found in the film. Complementing Jameson's analysis with psycho-biographical elements, this chapter examines the film's affects as a reflection not only of the fate of a collapsing Soviet Union, but also the transition, in Sokurov's own life, from a certain innocence of youth into the disillusion of adolescence and adulthood. The film is fundamentally a paean to the author's youth while also addressing motifs such as death and decay.
Keywords: Days of the Eclipse, Strugatsky Brothers, One Billion Years to the End of the World, Fredric Jameson, magic realism, Soviet Union, youth, death
Columbia Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
