APPENDIX
I. PLOT-PRINCIPAL SCENE SYNOPSIS
(Based on The Criterion Collection edition, #278, L’eclisse. DVD, 2005).
DVD begins with logo of
“Criterion.” Duration: approximately 10 seconds. (Note:
film will be considered as
“beginning” at commencement of this
shot, “zero on clock counter.”
Film Credits. Duration:
approximately 2 minutes.
- [2minutes, 10 seconds (from beginning
of film (appearance of “Criterion” logo)].
Riccardo’s home; “Eur” quarter of
Southern Rome; dawn. Scene
duration: approximately 16 minutes,
40 seconds (longest scene in entire film).
Riccardo and Vittoria have spent the evening arguing over their
relationship. They have decided to
break up. Vittoria departs and
walks back to her nearby apartment.
Riccardo follows her in his car, catching up to Vittoria as she is
walking to her apartment. Riccardo
parks his car and accompanies Vittoria to the main door of her apartment building. Riccardo departs, closing main gate of
apartment building behind him.
Vittoria enters her apartment and gazes out of a window at trees
blowing in the wind.
- [18.50]. Rome, stock market (historic, central Rome);
approximately 12.30 (pm) as indicated by clock calendar in stock
exchange. Scene duration: approximately 7 minutes, 25
seconds. First of two protracted
scenes inside the stock exchange and outside in the adjoining square,
Piazza di Pietra. Vittoria takes a
taxi to the exchange to meet her mother.
Her mother (no given name) introduces Vittoria to the mother’s broker,
Piero, immediately before a “minute of silence” for a member of the
exchange who has recently died of a heart attack. The scene generally shows the tumult and
frenzy of the traders buying and selling stocks on the trading floor. Clock calender indicates Monday, 10 July. Vittoria exits stock market and
subsequently briefly meets her mother at the Piazza di Pietra where the
mother purchases some pears from a street vendor with the Bar della Borsa
in the background.
- [26.15]. Vittoria’s apartment, Eur, Viale dell’Umanesimo 307; evening. Scene duration: approximately 3 minutes,
33 seconds. Vittoria has obtained a
fossil of a plant affixed on a decorative mounting. Vittoria attempts to attach with a
hammer and nail the fossil to her apartment wall, awakening her neighbor,
Anita. Anita visits Vittoria
briefly in the latter’s apartment and informs Vittoria that her (Anita’s )
husband must fly and deliver a
plane to Verona. While
Vittoria and Anita are conversing, Vittoria receives a telephone call from
a neighbor, Marta, who lives in an adjoining apartment building and has
apparently glimpsed in a window of Vittoria’s apartment Vittoria and Anita
talking. Marta is of Italian heritage,
born and raised in Kenya, who is now residing in Italy. Marta invites Vittoria and Anita for a
late-night visit to Marta’s apartment, a dwelling entirely decorated with
memorabilia and furniture from Kenya.
- [29.48]. Marta’s apartment, Eur, Viale
dell’Umanesimo 315;
evening. Scene duration: approximately 6 minutes 38 seconds. After Anita, Marta, and Vittoria briefly converse regarding life in
Kenya, Vittoria—in an ellipse—puts on blackface and African garb and
performs a lively dance. Marta becomes annoyed with the masquerade, and
in another ellipse Vittoria removes the costume and makeup. Marta
hears the sound of dogs barking outside the apartment building and
realizes that somehow the apartment gate has opened and her dog (as well as
other dogs) have escaped. Marta and
Vittoria leave Marta’s apartment in search of Marta’s dog at the nearby
Palazzo dello Sport in the Eur, a large sport stadium that had been
constructed for the 1960 Rome Olympic events.
- [36.26]. Palazzo dello Sport, Eur; evening. Scene duration: approximately 3 minutes, 25 seconds.
Vittoria finds Marta’s black poodle.
Vittoria encourages the poodle to stand on its hind legs and do a
comic dance with a white poodle.
Vittoria then wanders alone on the grounds of the Palazzo dello
Sport, listening to the sound produced by a series of flag poles as they
sway in the gentle wind. The scene
ends with Vittoria standing beneath a large statue of an unidentified
human figure that Vittoria regards.
- [39.51]. Vittoria’s apartment;
indeterminate evening. Scene
duration: approximately 1 minute,
58 seconds. Riccardo tries to enter
the locked front doors of the apartment building. He calls up to Vittoria who hides behind
curtains. Vittoria phones an
unidentified man named “Franco” expressing concern regarding this
unexpected appearance of Riccardo. (After this scene Riccardo is not seen again in the film.)
- [41.49]. Flight to Verona; daytime. Scene duration: approximately 3 minutes, 12
seconds. Vittoria and Anita are
seated in the rear seat of the small cabin of the two engine plane which
Anita’s husband is flying to Verona.
Unidentified male co-pilot in front seat next to Anita’s
husband. Several exterior shots of
Rome and Verona are presented.
Vittoria exults in the flight, entranced by the clouds which she
wishes to fly into. Touchdown on
landing strip “8.”
- [45.01]. Verona, small airport; daytime. Scene duration: approximately 4 minutes, 53
seconds. Vittoria happily wanders
the grounds of the airport, finally ending up at the small bar/outdoor
terrace of the airport. Several
unidentified, white Americans are conversing on the terrace while two
inidentified, black men sit silently outside the entrance to the bar. A white American in the bar tries to
start a conversation with Vittoria. Vittoria smiles, exits the bar and is
rejoined by Anita. (After this scene Anita is not seen again in the film.) Vittoria appears happy and at peace with
herself, the scene abruptly ending with a sudden cut to . .
.
- [49.54]. Rome, stock market;
Friday, 21 July, 13.09 (as indicated on clock calender). Scene duration: approximately 15 minutes, 19 seconds. Piero and his boss, Ercoli, enter stock
market. Later in the scene,
Vittoria’s mother enters, followed later by the independent entrance of
Vittoria into the exchange. This
protracted and frenetic scene portrays the unexpected “crash” of the
Italian stock market. Vittoria
approaches Piero and in a brief conversation asks Piero how her mother is
faring in the crash. Piero responds
that Vittoria’s mother may have lost 10 million lira, but then points to an obese, older man who has
lost 50 million lira in the crash.
This man then is shown walking out a door of the stock market into
the Piazza di Pietra, Vittoria and
Piero are visible in the background.
Vittoria offers Piero her hand; they formally shake hands, and
Vittoria then follows the obese trader as he exits into the piazza.
- [105.13] Piazza di Pietra; midday. Scene duration: approximately 4 minutes, 55
seconds. Vittoria exits the stock
market and follows the unidentified man who has lost a large amount of
money in the crash. Vittoria follows the man into a pharmacy in the Piazza
di Pietra where he buys a mild tranquilizer. Subsequently, Vittoria
follows the man as he sits at an outdoor table of the Bar della Borsa café
of the piazza, taking the medication, and drawing a small doodle on a
piece of paper. The man arises
after only several minutes; Vittoria approaches the table and picks up the
doodle. She stands outside of the
Bar della Borsa studying the doodle.
Unbeknownst to Vittoria, Piero is inside the bar. Piero spies Vittoria studying the piece
of paper and invites her into the bar.
An insert shot shows that the doodle is a simple drawing of small
flowers. Vittoria and Piero
converse about the crash with Vittoria showing a special interest as to
where the money actually goes when the market falls. Vittoria and Piero exit the bar,
Vittoria stating that she intends to go to the apartment of her mother
which is nearby in central Rome.
Piero offers to drive Vittoria in his sports car, an offer Vittoria
accepts.
- [110.08] Apartment of Vittoria’s
mother,
central Rome;
afternoon. Scene duration: approximately 3 minutes, 48
seconds. Vittoria and Piero briefly
stand in the bedroom of Vittoria’s mother examining photographs of
Vittoria’s family. St. Peter’s
Basilica is visible in the background through a window. Vittoria and Piero then go to Vittoria’s
childhood bedroom and sit briefly on the bed. Piero tries to kiss Vittoria which she
resists. Vittoria’s mother returns
and encounters both Vittoria and Piero still in Vittoria’s childhood
bedroom. Piero then goes to a
sitting room and slumps in a large seat, appearing to doze off.
- [113.48] Piero’s office, central Rome, on Via Po near Via Salaria; 21
July, evening (early in the scene a wall clock indicates that it is
approximately 5.22 pm; later in the scene—after an apparent ellipse—Piero
mentions to a client that it is now 10 pm). Scene duration: approximately 6 minutes, 37
seconds. This scene takes place
over an extended period of 5 or more hours in Piero’s office during the
evening in the aftermath of the market crash earlier in the day. Worried clients are present,
desperately appealing for assistance.
Piero telephones an unidentified woman (the “Bestiola”) and
arranges a date for an unspecified time later that evening. (The wall clock indicates approximately
5.22 pm as the time that Piero makes this call.) Later in the evening after the clients
have left, Piero sits exhausted at his desk, the evening sky dark, street lights
illuminated as seen through his office window behind him. Piero suddenly remembers his rendezvous
with the woman he had phoned earlier in the evening. He rushes to the street below where he
finds an attractive, brunette woman waiting for him. Piero complains to her that she has now dyed
her hair from blond to black and cancels the date. He then drives to . .
.
- [120.25] Vittoria’s apartment; evening. Scene
duration: approximately 4 minutes,
31 seconds. Piero, driving very
fast, screeches to a halt, parks his sports car, exits, and initially
walks to the gate of the apartment building at Viale
dell’Umanesimo 315. He then apparently
hears the sound of a typewriter and walks several paces in the direction
of the sound to the gate of the adjoining apartment building at Viale
dell’Umanesimo 307. It is in this
latter building that in a second floor apartment immediately above the
front gate Vittoria lives.
Vittoria is a translator and is working on a Spanish translation at
her typewriter. An unidentified,
young, blond woman exits from the front door of Vittoria’s apartment
building, opens the metal gate by which Piero is standing, enters a car
immediately in front of the building and drives off. Piero
stares in the direction of this woman during her entire passage
from apartment building door through the front gate and into her car. As the woman passes Piero at the front
gate, Piero turns, follows the woman several paces and continues to stare
at her as she enters the car and drives off. At no point does the woman appear to
return Piero’s gaze. Vittoria is hiding behind a curtain at her
apartment window fronting the Viale dell’Umanesimo and observes Piero at
the front gate of the building immediately below. Apparently, Piero hears a pedestrian
approaching on the otherwise deserted Viale dell’Umanesimo. Piero turns and walks several paces in
the direction of the approaching pedestrian, out of view of Vittoria. As the pedestrian approaches, it is
apparent that he is a drunken man of approximately Piero’s size and age,
dressed in a suit. The drunk and
Piero uneventfully cross paths and the drunk continues walking till he
stops on the sidewalk beneath Vittoria’s window where she is no longer
hiding behind the curtains.
Although Vittoria does not call any obvious attention to herself,
the drunk turns to observe her at the window, stops, and salutes Vittoria
in a drunken manner, “Ciao, Cara!”
Vittoria laughs, asking the drunk who he is. The drunk smiles and waves his hand in a
gesture of incertitude, walking on out of the frame in the direction of
Piero’s car parked in front of the Viale dell’Umanesimo 315 building. Piero now returns to the front gate of
Vittoria’s apartment where she is
standing at the window, no longer hiding.
Piero calls up to her from the sidewalk below, asking in light
banter to be let into her apartment.
Vittoria pleasantly refuses.
Piero then hears the sound of his sports car starting. Piero runs off in pursuit, nearly being
struck by the fleeing drunk who has stolen the car. Piero returns to the gate with Vittoria
still at her window and asks where the police station is. She replies that she does not know. Piero states that there must be a taxi
stand nearby and Vittoria offers to phone for a cab.
- [124.31] Eur “laghetto” (“little
lake”); following morning. Scene duration: approximately 9 minutes, 7 seconds. In an ellipse, Vittoria and Piero have
apparently agreed to meet by the Eur lake.
They witness Piero’s car containing the dead body of the drunk
being hoisted out of the lake.
Vittoria and Piero then begin a promenade through the Eur, playing
briefly with a water sprinkler and then stopping to listen to piano music
emanating from a jukebox at an outdoor café in which only an elderly
couple are seated. Vittoria and Piero continue their walk till they find
an empty baby carriage with a balloon attached to the carriage by a
string, the stroller directly in
front of Viale dell’Umanesimo 315 where Piero had parked his sports car
the previous evening. Standing
beneath the balcony of Marta’s apartment, Vittoria calls up to Marta and asks her to shoot the balloon which
Vittoria will untie. From her
balcony Marta shoots the balloon with a hunting rifle to which which
Vittoria and Piero enthusiastically applaud. (Marta is not seen again in the
film.) Vittoria and Piero head in
the direction of Vittoria’s adjacent apartment building but Piero asks
Vittoria to continue their stroll. Vittoria and Piero continue onward to
an uninhabited construction site of a building at a quiet intersection in
the Eur (Viale del Ciclismo 19, 00144 Roma). Vittoria and Piero have a
brief conversation aside a metal barrel filled with water into which
Vittoria throws a small piece of wood that she has broken off the fence of
the construction site. Vittoria and
Piero then depart in opposite directions. When Vittoria turns around to gaze at
Piero departing, Piero is no longer there.
- [133.38] Vittoria’s apartment; indeterminate date and time; evening of same day as #14 above
(?) Scene duration: approximately 36 seconds. Vittoria,
while sitting on her bed, makes a phone call; line busy . .
. .
- [134.12] Indeterminate location;
Piero’s apartment (?); indeterminate
date; same day, evening as #15 above (?)
Scene duration:
approximately 52 seconds.
Piero is lying in bed in his pyjamas reading a Roman, daily
newspaper, “Il Giornale d’Italia.”
He is speaking but it is initially unclear to whom he is
talking. Piero then lowers the
newspaper and we see that he is talking to an unidentified party on the
telephone. Piero asks the other party to wait (“aspetta . .
. ”), puts down the
“Giornale d’Italia,” and picks up another Roman daily, “Paese Sera.” He then concludes the telephone
conversation and arises to stand by a night table. Piero then pours several drops of an
unidentified, apparent medication into an empty glass. The phone rings. Piero says “hello” (“pronto”) three
times, each time progressively louder as he apparently does not receive
any response from the other end of the line. He appears to be extinguishing a
cigarette in an ash tray by the telephone at the same time. Piero hangs up the receiver.
- [135.04] Vittoria’s apartment; indeterminate
date; same evening/time as #16
above (?) Scene duration: approximately 28 seconds. Vittoria is sitting on her bed, phone in
hand. She hangs up the receiver.
- [135.32] Eur Construction site, intersection of Via del Ciclismo and
Via della Tecnica, water barrel; indeterminate date;
time (Vittoria’s wristwatch, 4.11
pm [?]). Scene duration: approximately 3 minutes, 26 seconds.
Vittoria is standing by the wooden fence at the construction site. She approaches the water barrel, places
her hand in the barrel, and touches the water and/or stick causing
movement of water and stick.
Vittoria then turns away from the barrel towards a tree bordering
the “zebra-striped” pedestrian crossing of adjacent street. Vittoria picks off a small piece of bark
from the tree and rolls it in her fingers against the backdrop of the
zebra-striped pedestrian crossing. Vittoria watches a
sulkey passing from right to left, camera pan from right to left following
Vittoria’s (and our) point of view.
The camera pan stops as we now see Piero in the middle of the
street standing in front of the passing sulkey (It is unclear whether
Vittoria actually sees Piero at this point). Vittoria turns back to the barrel and
again places her hand in the
barrel. Piero has now joined
Vittoria by the barrel, cigarette in hand, remarking, “Sei gìa qui” /
“You’re already here.” Piero lights
a cigarette and tosses something,
presumably the book of matches, into the water barrel. An insert shot shows that the matches
have somehow landed beneath the piece of wood floating in the barrel. Vittoria flicks the piece of wood with
her hand, separating wood and matches.
Vittoria’s wristwatch is poorly visible but appears to indicate
approximately 4.11 pm. Piero then
suggests that they go to his apartment, a suggestion which Vittoria
accepts. As Vittoria and Piero cross the intersection to go to Piero’s
apartment, Vittoria turns her back on Piero as she stops in the middle of
the street to watch a young, blond man walking nearby in the street. Vittoria rejoins Piero and they are shown
crossing the intersection. A nurse
pushing a stroller approaches Vittoria and Piero. As the nurse stops to adjust her
stocking, we see Piero turn around, apparently to look at the nurse.
- [138.58] Apartment of Piero’s parents, Ghetto, near Piazza Campitelli; same day as #18 above. Scene duration: approximately 9 minutes, 26
seconds. Vittoria and Piero ascend
in an elevator to the front door of the apartment. Piero smiles at Vittoria as he
repetitively turns the key several times to open the door. After entering the apartment, Piero fastens
the door chain; a black bust of a Pan-like figure playing a flute is seen
next to Piero. In the hallway of
the apartment Vittoria stands and stares at large painting of a young girl
dressed in a white dress and white hat.
Vittoria then stands before a window in the hallway next to the
painting of the young girl. Through
the window Vittoria looks upon the inner courtyard of the large apartment
building. Directly across from
Vittoria an unidentified woman appears in the window of an apartment; the
woman briefly stares in the direction of Vittoria and then retreats into
the darkness behind her. Vittoria
then walks several paces forward in the hallway to briefly stand near a
white bust of a woman’s head.
Vittoria then sits on a bench beneath the hallway painting of the
young girl in the white dress.
Piero asks Vittoria if “you want to sit right there?” She arises and both Vittoria and Piero
enter a living room area and stand before a painting (retouched
photograph?) of three unidentified children. Vittoria then turns and gazes at a
landscape painting of a lake and surrounding mountains. Piero offers Vittoria a drink which she
refuses. Vittoria sits on a couch beneath a large painting of a
woman dressed in a black dress and black hat. Piero then offers Vittoria a box of
chocolates. Both Vittoria and Piero
laugh when Piero discovers that the box is empty. Vittoria asks Piero to sit next to her
on the couch. She asks him “what
did you do last night?” Piero
responds, “I had dinner with seven or eight billion lira.” Vittoria replies, “Or was it a call
girl?” Piero then remarks, laughing
“Who has time to go out with call girls?
I’m the call girl.”
Vittoria then arises and walks to a closed, shuttered window and
peers between the slats. Vittoria
then sits down at a nearby small table and briefly plays with a deck of
cards. Vittoria then arises and
approaches a large cabinet whose doors are made of glass panes. As Piero approaches Vittoria she opens
one of the glass paned doors and interposes it between Piero and
herself. Vittoria and Piero then
kiss three times, their lips pressed against the glass pane that separates
them. Piero then abruptly shuts the
door of the cabinet, grabs Vittoria and passionately kisses her. Vittoria appears to initially accept
Piero’s embrace but then tries to free herself. As Vittoria tries to escape from Piero’s
grasp her dress is torn at the shoulder. Piero apologizes. Vittoria then turns away from Piero
passing through several rooms until arriving at the apparent boyhood room
of Piero(?) Vittoria looks around
the room, stops in front of the small bed, staring in the direction of a
large model of a ship, beneath which is a travel poster showing a matador
and bull and the sentence (in English), “rent a car in Spain.” Vittoria, while perusing the room finds
a small novelty pen bearing the photo of a woman. A close up of the pen shows the apparent
black one-piece swimsuit (or lingerie) of the woman going up and down as
Vittoria manipulates the pen.
Vittoria then passes through another room decorated with large
representations of playing cards till she arrives at the bedroom of
Piero’s parents. Vittoria takes off
her necklace. She begins to remove
her dress at the shoulder but stops.
Vittoria then stares about the room. She approaches and gazes at two portrait photographs—one of an older
man and the other of an older woman—hung above the bed ( Piero’s
parents[?]). Vittoria then
approaches a window and opens the closed wooden shutters. The window looks down upon the Piazza
Campitelli. We see two nuns walking
past the church in the distance.
Several other point of view shots from Vittoria’s perspective are
presented as she gazes out the window.
One shot is presented from a perspective outside the building of
Vittoria standing at the window gazing outside. Piero is then heard from behind a closed
door of the bedroom asking if he may enter. Vittoria approaches the door and refuses. Piero then sneaks through another closed
door of the bedroom to surprise Vittoria as he quietly approaches her from
behind. Vittoria smiles. Piero then tries to kiss Vittoria but
she resists. Vittoria and Piero then
stand apart, holding and playing with each other’s hands. Standing aside the photo of Piero’s
father next to the bed, Piero kisses Vittoria’s hand and then her
shoulder. Piero then pulls Vittoria
down to the bed where Vittoria lies on her back with Piero lying at her
side, his head above her. They kiss
each other on the lips.
- [148.24] Eur hillside with unusual
building in background; indeterminate
date. Scene duration: approximately 2 minutes, 6 seconds. Both Vittoria and Piero are lying
several feet apart on their backs.
A brief conversation ensues regarding their relationship.
- [150.30] Piero’s office, Via Po; indeterminate date (approximately 10 September, 1961). Scene duration: approximately 8 minutes, 47
seconds. There is relatively little audible speech in the entire scene, although a complex series of movements by the actors rivaling the choreography of dance continue throughout. Vittoria and Piero are
alone, lying on a black couch, embracing each other in a playful and happy
manner, particularly with an intertwining of limbs. They continue to amuse
themselves by pantomiming several unidentified couples they have
seen. Vittoria and Piero arise from
the couch and stand by an open, window-paneled door leading to a small
balcony. Vittoria briefly wraps herself with the translucent white curtain of the door. They stand on opposite
sides of the open door and kiss, the glass separating their lips. Their playful frolicking continues, both now wrapped together in the curtain, then tumbling together to the floor as their antics proceed, Vittoria play-acting the part of a tigress.
A buzzer rings. (The front door?) Vittoria and Piero stop their playful
activity, arise, and adjust their clothing. The buzzer rings a second time. Vittoria utters: “È tardi. Per te, non per me.” / “It’s late. For you, not for me.” (Author’s [dsr] translation as opposed to the Criterion version DVD sub-title: “For your sake, not mine.”) Vittoria and Piero walk through several
rooms of the office complex to the foyer and front door where they
embrace, their faces side-by-side, initially gazing away from we the audience. Vittoria then turns her head in the direction of we and “the fourth wall,” mouthing an inaudible word, perhaps “amore,” just as her lips turn past Piero’s ear as he continues motionless to stare away from us. (Can Piero hear a whisper that we the audience cannot?) Vittoria and Piero continue to hold their heads side by side in an embrace, a wide, most happy, smile suddenly illuminating Vittoria’s face as she turns her gaze towards us. Vittoria and Piero then break their embrace and utter their final words to each other, a mutual agreement to meet at 8 o’clock that very evening at the usual “place,” as well as tomorrow and all days to come. Vittoria briefly, barely touches Piero’s lips with her fingers. They again embrace, again with their heads side-by-side, but this time with both of their faces looking directly out towards us, initiating eye contact--particularly Piero--with us through the lens of the camera. Piero carefully opens
the door and checks if anyone is there.
No one. Vittoria exits and
briefly turns around to gaze at Piero.
Vittoria then briskly walks down the building’s stairwell, the
elevator shaft of which is covered with wooden beams and construction
material undergoing repair of some kind.
Piero takes several steps outside of the office door and watches
Vittoria depart. (She does not
return his gaze.) A shot of Piero is
then presented as he reenters the office and begins replacing multiple
phones which have been taken off their hooks, a small smile on his face. The camera returns to a shot of Vittoria,
now slowly descending the stairs as she approaches the landing and front
door of the office building.
Vittoria pauses on the stairs.
Telephones are now beginning to ring. Piero sits at his desk and
shuffles through several papers on his desk. The wind is entering through
an open window gently blowing papers and bulletins attached to the wall. Piero leans back in his chair, pensive
(the last shot of Piero in the film).
Shot of Vittoria, still paused on the stairs. She briefly looks back and up over her
shoulder and then slowly heads toward the front door of the building.
Vittoria quickens her pace at the
moment she exits through the front door of the building onto the
sidewalk. She turns left and walks down the sidewalk, bumping
into an unidentified pedestrian, not going gently into that night.
Vittoria then stops within several meters of the front door of
Piero’s office building in front of the metal grill of a shop-window. (The
same exact site where Piero had previously met the Bestiola?) Vittoria turns around and walks several
paces towards the street, stopping to peer up at large trees behind the tall wall of the villa Giorgina across
the street. Vittoria then again turns
around and looks up, apparently in the direction of Piero’s office which
is above her. Vittoria then looks
down in the general direction at we the audience briefly holding her gaze, the smallest of smiles on her face,” then breaks the gaze to look to her right and begin walking down the sidewalk of Via Po off-screen left and out of L’eclisse.
- [158.17-205.45] Eur; late afternoon/early evening, approximately 10 September,
1961. Scene duration: approximately 7 minutes, 28
seconds. This “coda” consists
of 57 shots of various sites in the
Eur. Duration of the shots are
brief with some variation in length.
Instrumental music is present throughout the scene but no
dialog. The majority of shots are
stationary with no camera movement; occasional dolly/tracking shot or
pan. Neither Vittoria or Piero
appear.
SHOT 1: Panoramic view of Eur
beginning with a view of nursemaid pushing baby
carriage followed by a
subsequent pan screen right to left of water sprinkler in
foreground, “fungo” water
reservoir and construction site in background. Pan stops
when water barrel appears in distance/screen left.
SHOT 2: Pile of metal tubing/building
material next to fence of construction site, in disarray.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 3: Fence and water barrel of
construction site. Barrel on close
examination may be
seen and heard to be leaking
water (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 4: Close-up of interior of water
barrel. Match book floating in barrel
(broken piece
of wood not visible). Slight pan upwards from barrel to partial
view of zebra-
striped pedestrian crossing at
intersection of Viale della Tecnica and Viale del
Ciclismo.
SHOT 5: Half-constructed building
with mat-covering and protruding horizontal metal rods
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 6: Close-up of metal rods above
tops of trees below. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 7: Close-up of metal rods,
clouds. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 8: Pan screen right to left
following passage of sulkey on Viale della Tecnica,
the sulkey passing
zebra-striped pedestrian crossing, eventually intersecting with
nursemaid pushing baby
carriage in background.
SHOT 9: Shadow of leafless tree. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 10: Asphalt surface of street,
center of shot in sunlight flanked on both sides by
shadow(?) versus white line
of zebra-striped pedestrian crossing(?) versus
other(?). (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 11: Tracking shot left to right
passing small cabin-like structures on Viale
della Tecnica on opposite
side of street from construction site.
SHOT 12: Zebra-striped pedestrian
crossing. Sudden appearance of
unidentified adult male in
suit viewed from behind as he crosses Viale della Tecnica in direction
of water
barrel. Slight compound pan from
screen right to left and upwards following
passage of man.
SHOT 13: Match-on-action, bridging shot; cut to different camera angle of same man
crossing
Viale della Tecnica, walking past water barrel, and heading up Viale
del
Ciclismo. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 14: Trees whose branches are blowing in wind. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 15: Ants on bark of tree. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 16: Panoramic, aerial shot above Viale
della Tecnica with above-mentioned
cabins near center screen. Pan
from screen right to left ending on water barrel in
center of screen.
SHOT 17: Bus partially hidden by trees, departing and
accelerating from apparent bus stop.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 18: View of construction site from
across Viale della Tecnica. (Stationary
shot.)
SHOT 19: View of water barrel. Both matchbook and piece of wood are now
visible, but not
touching. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 20: Close-up of rupture of barrel;
leaking water now very evident. Camera
dollys
backwards to follow course
of rivulet of water from leaking barrel flowing down
sidewalk and into sewer opening. Small piece of wet paper at margin of
sidewalk
above sewer opening.
SHOT 21: View of open front gate of
Viale del Ciclismo 10. Building
attendant/doorman
stands on sidewalk, screen
right, with hands clasped behind back.
An
unidentified, older woman
who is sitting is apparent on close inspection in
background near the front
door of the building. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 22: Medium shot of unidentified
older woman apparently waiting impatiently at
bus stop. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 23: Medium shot of an unidentified
young woman standing, looking about.
In
background there is an unidentified person standing on a balcony. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 24: Full-shot of same woman of
Shot #23 where we now see her entire body.
We
are now able to see that the
woman is standing in the street just off the sidewalk of
an intersection. She is well attired and carrying a large
purse. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 25: A municipal bus approaches the
intersection where the woman of Shots # 23 and #24
is now barely apparent,
continuing to stand at the same spot as in Shots #23/24. The bus
begins to make a left turn
at the intersection. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 26: Close-up of wheel of bus as
camera then performs a following-shot of the bus as it
completes the left turn.
SHOT 27: Bus enters from screen left
and stops. Bus door opens and an
unidentified adult
woman and then a man descend.
Woman exits screen right. The man
is reading
a
newspaper; he holds the paper with both hands in front of him such that the
headline of the front page is easily discernible to the viewer (“LA GARA
ATOMICA” / “THE ATOMIC
RACE”). Slight dolly backwards of camera
as man
slowly exits screen left, the
front page of the newspaper remaining in focus in close-
up.
SHOT 28: Close-up, “over-the-shoulder” shot of inner pages of newspaper which
man of Shot
# 27 is reading. Again, large print easily discernible: “LA PACE È DEBOLE” /
“PEACE IS WEAK.” There is a following-shot of the man—a
compound shot with
the camera making a slight
dolly forward and tilt upward—as the man walks with
his
back to the viewer down the street. In
the distance in the background are a group
of
children playing.
SHOT 29: Long-shot of children playing in
distance. Pan from screen right to left
stopping
on
view of water sprinkler spraying water.
SHOT 30: Shot of sprinkler in the
foreground. In the background a man (“city
public works employee”) enters frame from screen right, bends down, and
manipulates a valve which turns off the sprinkler. Man then begins walking
towards sprinkler. Unidentified
bicyclist seen approaching in extreme upper right
corner of frame (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 31:
Close-up of water droplets on leaves of apparent bush (near sprinkler?), some
droplets falling to ground . (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 32:
Long-shot of large tree consuming the majority of the center and left half of
frame.
White building with sharp, angular, geometric appearance with multiple
balconies in screen right. Vertical pole (street light?) just left to
center of screen
extending from bottom to top of frame.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 33:
Close-up of balconies and windows of building of Shot #32. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 34:
Extreme close-up of balconies of building of Shot #32. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 35:
Extreme close-up of top portion of building of Shot #32. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 36:
Contrail of jet aircraft in center of frame accompanied by sound of jet. Two leafless
trees against background of dark clouds across entire bottom portion of
frame.
Large, vertical pole in screen left extending from bottom to top of
frame (light
tower of nearby outdoor bicycle stadium?). (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 37: Tighter, extreme-close up of image of Shot
#35; now with view of the heads of
two adults on roof (man and
woman?). Figure on screen left (man with
dark hair?)
is pointing slightly upwards towards screen left. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 38: Stationary view of tree lined street; metal
front gate of an apartment building along
entire bottom, horizontal ribbon of frame; small portion of apartment
building with
balconies in frame left; small lamppost by front gate; large street
light in distance
visible above large prominent trees that take up much of the frame. The back of the
head of a blond-haired woman enters from screen left; a tracking-shot
follows the
woman as she walks down the vacant street. The street becomes recognizable as the
woman continues several paces and suddenly turns around to face the
camera (to
observe if there is
any on-coming traffic prior to crossing the street?). The
woman
is
unidentified. As she turns, the water
barrel and a sign above the barrel of
the
half-constructed building site are visible in the far background adjacent to
the
woman’s head. We are now able to
orient ourselves and appreciate that the woman
has been walking along the Viale della Tecnica towards the Viale del
Ciclismo.
It
is when she reaches the latter street that she turns right into the Viale
del
Ciclismo at the corner of the intersection just opposite the building
site, and begins
to
cross the Viale della Tecnica in the direction of the outdoor bicycle stadium.
SHOT 39: Extreme close-up of interior of water barrel
at construction site. View of the
matchbook with its front cover now upright. The broken piece of wood lies
partially on top of the matchbook.
Three (spent?) matches touch the matchbook
and piece of wood, all of which are
slowly, passively circling clockwise in the
moving water of the barrel.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 40: Extreme close-up of water flowing on
sidewalk. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 41: Even more extreme close-up of water flowing
on sidewalk (magnification of Shot
#40?) showing small pieces of dirt dissolving and being swept away. (Stationary
shot.)
SHOT 42: Extreme close-up of partial view of a human
face showing left angle of jaw and
bottom portion of left earlobe.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 43: Extreme close-up of different, partial view
of same face, showing left eye covered
by
eye glasses bearing apparent reflection of Eur intersection. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 44: Extreme close-up of the entire face of man of
shots #42 and 43, head and eyes
slightly turned towards screen left (“character’s right side”). A sign at the
construction site is barely visible in the background, partially
obscured by the
man’s head and foliage of tree.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 45: Medium-shot of man of Shots # 42-44. He exits screen right, the camera moving
with slight tilt downwards as man exits.
The camera lingers momentarily on the
sign and water barrel in center screen.
SHOT 46: Water flowing down sidewalk. Portion of the fence of the construction site
visible
in extreme upper left portion of the frame. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 47: Extreme close-up of crack in asphalt of
sidewalk. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 48: Medium shot of baby in carriage looking
upwards at nursemaid. Nursemaid then
rolls carriage with baby off screen left. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 49: Wide, long distance-shot towards dark clouds
and setting Sun with the outdoor
bicycle stadium and its large light towers visible in lower left of
screen. (Stationary
shot.)
SHOT 50:
Close-up of the head of an unidentified, middle-aged woman seen through
the
vertical bars of a metal grill.
The woman, in partial profile, makes a movement of
her head and eyes, looking slightly up and to her right. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT
51: Shot of streetlight (precise
location uncertain) set against background of
cloudy sky. Partial view of a
tree in lower right portion of frame.
Streetlight
flickers on as it becomes lit.
(Stationary shot.)
SHOT 52: Two man walking in middle of an apparent Eur
street, walking away from camera.
Illumination becoming increasingly darker. Car approaches men and swerves to
avoid hitting them. (Stationary
shot.)
SHOT 53: Intersection of Viale della Tecnica and
Viale del Ciclismo with half-constructed
building and area of the water barrel in the lower right of frame. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 54: Different view of intersection of Viale
della Tecnica and Viale del Ciclismo.
A
municipal bus enters the frame and makes left turn into Viale del Ciclismo next
to
construction site. (Stationary shot.)
SHOT 55: Bus has completed left turn and has stopped
on Viale del Ciclismo near intersection
with Viale della Tecnica. Shot
opens with bus stopped, screen right, with
multiple, unidentified passengers descending. View of
passengers walking towards
above intersection. Slight dolly
forward and pan left of camera following
passengers from behind as they walk next to the construction site
towards its corner
with the water barrel and cross Viale della Tecnica at zebra-striped pedestrian crossing.
SHOT 56: Twilight.
Wide shot of the entire half-constructed building with a small lamp
providing illumination to a limited area of the water barrel and
sign. After several
seconds, there is a slow pan to the right stopping on a whole view of a
large street
light (lamp and pole) on the Viale della Tecnica.
SHOT 57: Extreme close-up of the lamp of the
streetlight with a slight pulsation of its intense,
white light and “halo.” The word “FINE” in white, block letters
appears to screen
left of the lamp, slowly increasing and then stabilizing in size. After several
seconds the image of the lamp and its halo dissolves and disappears,
leaving only
the word “FINE” against a black background. The word “FINE” then gradually
dissolves and disappears leaving a completely black screen. Loud music continues,
reaches its crescendo, and then abruptly stops. The rest is silence. (It is at this point when the screen is
black and the music ceases that I have considered the film as ending at
2 hours, 5
minutes, 45 seconds.)