"Inspired by a science fiction allegory (by the) authors of Tarkovsky's Stalker...Eclipse is a messianic rumination on Soviet society. In the book, a mysterious extraterrestrial force disrupts all Earth research it considers dangerous; in the film, this allegory of an omnipotent state arrayed against isolated individuals is transformed into a phantasmagoric tale of a young doctor relegated to a godforsaken part of Asiatic Russia (where) unknown powers interfere with his research....A series of disconnected, mystifying vignettes acts as scaffolding for the doctor's spiritual search. He must choose between compromise, submission, or a probably hopeless battle. The town emerges as a microcosm of Soviet society, with Crimean Tartars and Volga Germans (both deported by Stalin to Asia), religious fanatics, and soldiers on their way to Afghanistan, all thrown together with the native population....An eclipse impends....Only someone fully awake to the magic powers of film could have envisioned such (shots)."-Amos Vogel, Film Comment