{ "id": "epbnpqhh55", "slug": "eros-2004-film", "title": "Eros (2004 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Eros (愛神) is a 2004 three-part anthology film on love and sex by Wong Kar-wai (The Hand), Steven Soderbergh (Equilibrium), and Michelangelo Antonioni (The Dangerous Thread of Things), conceived as a tribute and Antonioni's final film.", "snippet": "Eros (愛神) is a 2004 three-part anthology film on love and sex by Wong Kar-wai (The Hand), Steven Soderbergh (Equilibrium), and Michelangelo Antonioni (The Dangerous Thread of Things), conceived as a tribute and Antonioni's final film.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.short-films-individual", "markdown": "# Eros (2004 film)\n\n**Eros** (愛神; Japanese: 愛の神、エロス) is a 2004 anthology film of three short segments on love and sexuality, directed by [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelangelo-antonioni), Steven Soderbergh, and [Wong Kar-wai](https://www.edgepedia.org/wong-kar-wai). Each director contributed one story: Wong's *[The Hand](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hand-2004-film)*, set in 1960s Hong Kong; Soderbergh's *Equilibrium*, set in 1950s New York; and Antonioni's *The Dangerous Thread of Things*, set in Tuscany. The project was conceived as a tribute to Antonioni, then 92 and in poor health, and it became his final film.[1](https://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews15/eros_dvd_review.htm) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html) • [3](https://metrograph.com/film/9999000989-eros/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Three-part anthology on love and sex: *The Hand* (Wong Kar-wai), *Equilibrium* (Soderbergh), *The Dangerous Thread of Things* (Antonioni)[1](https://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews15/eros_dvd_review.htm) |\n| Languages | Mandarin, English, Italian[4](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/49300.html) |\n| Premiere and release | World premiere 10 September 2004; Italian theatrical release 3 December 2004[5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/movies/221318/) |\n| Principal cast | Gong Li, Chang Chen, Robert Downey Jr., Alan Arkin, Christopher Buchholz[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343663/) |\n| Box office | $1,553,020 worldwide[5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/movies/221318/) |\n| Reception | IMDb 5.9/10 (about 7,800 votes); Rotten Tomatoes 33% Tomatometer from 66 reviews[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343663/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005) |\n| Significance | Antonioni's final film, adapting sketches from his 1983 collection *That Bowling Alley on the Tiber*[3](https://metrograph.com/film/9999000989-eros/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### The three segments\n\n**The Hand (Wong Kar-wai).** Set in 1960s Hong Kong and shot in Mandarin, the segment follows a young tailor, Zhang ([Chang Chen](https://www.edgepedia.org/chang-chen)), and the beautiful courtesan Miss Hua ([Gong Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/gong-li)). At their first meeting she arouses him to inspire his craft, and he remains devoted to her for years as her fortunes decline into poverty and illness. Critics widely received it as the strongest part of the film, and it was compared to Wong's *In the Mood for Love* for its sensuality conveyed through gesture rather than explicitness.[1](https://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews15/eros_dvd_review.htm) • [9](https://www.panorama-cinema.com/html/critiques/eros.htm) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005)\n\n**Equilibrium (Steven Soderbergh).** In 1950s New York, a stressed advertising executive, Nick Penrose ([Robert Downey Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-downey-jr)), tells his psychiatrist, Dr. Pearl ([Alan Arkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-arkin)), about a recurring erotic dream of an unknown woman. Soderbergh, writing his first original script since *Schizopolis*, treated the material as a comedy of neuroses, alternating black-and-white reality with saturated color dream sequences. He described the piece as deliberately anti-sexy, and several critics judged it the most successful of the three on those terms.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html) • [10](https://www.avclub.com/eros-1798200605) • [9](https://www.panorama-cinema.com/html/critiques/eros.htm)\n\n**The Dangerous Thread of Things (Michelangelo Antonioni).** Shot in Italian, the segment concerns a married couple on holiday in Tuscany whose relationship has gone stale; the husband encounters a passionate young woman, and the story unfolds against the backdrop of crumbling Tuscan ruins. Antonioni adapted it from one of the \"nuclei\" sketches in his 1983 collection *That Bowling Alley on the Tiber*. It was the most openly erotic of the three and the most harshly reviewed; the Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus holds that Wong's short lives up to the promise of the title while Antonioni's is a serious disappointment.[3](https://metrograph.com/film/9999000989-eros/) • [9](https://www.panorama-cinema.com/html/critiques/eros.htm) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005)\n\n## Origins and production\n\nThe idea came from the Paris-based producer Stéphane Tchalgadjieff, who had produced Antonioni's *Beyond the Clouds* in 1995. He proposed a trilogy on the subject of eros with one segment directed by Antonioni himself, and the producers sought two much younger directors who had publicly acknowledged a debt to the Italian filmmaker.[8](https://manchevski.com/docs/WORLD_CINEMAS.pdf) Wong Kar-wai was one early choice; the other was originally [Pedro Almodóvar](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-almodovar). Because Wong planned to shoot his segment in Shanghai, the Chinese censors had to approve the scripts for all three parts, and Almodóvar's script was rejected. While the parties searched for a solution, Almodóvar's availability window closed and he left the project to make *Bad Education*. At the 2002 [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival) the producers approached [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh), who accepted.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html)\n\nAntonioni had suffered a stroke in 1985 that cost him his speech and mobility, and his condition precluded a full-length feature, which led to the anthology format. Producer Raphaël Berdugo, present on the set, described how Antonioni directed from his wheelchair, answering yes or no to questions and explaining his ideas with his hands, like a mime, while deciding the placement of the camera at each location. His segment was the first of the three to be shot.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html)\n\nSoderbergh described his brief as unusually free: \"This is the title; this is the concept. You can do whatever you want as long as it costs this much.\" He spent months settling on an idea and shot his segment in five days, designing it, in his words, as \"the sorbet between the two heavy meals.\"[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html)\n\nThe three films were made independently of one another. They are loosely linked by interstitial erotic drawings by the Italian artist Lorenzo Mattotti and by a theme song titled \"Michelangelo Antonioni,\" sung in Italian by the Brazilian musician [Caetano Veloso](https://www.edgepedia.org/caetano-veloso).[8](https://manchevski.com/docs/WORLD_CINEMAS.pdf)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film premiered on 10 September 2004 and opened in Italy on 3 December 2004, followed by releases in France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium in 2005. It grossed $1,553,020 worldwide and was rated R by the MPAA.[5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/movies/221318/) It screened at the 2004 Venice and Toronto film festivals, and Wong's segment won Best Short Film at the 2005 Golden Horse Film Festival.[11](https://mubi.com/es-es/us/films/eros)\n\nCritical response was mixed in a patterned way: reviewers generally praised Wong's segment, found Soderbergh's comic entry engaging if slight, and judged Antonioni's contribution the weakest. [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s Scott Tobias wrote that the anthology proved \"it's hard to make onscreen erotica look remotely sexy,\" with Soderbergh's entry succeeding by being \"brazenly anti-sexy.\"[10](https://www.avclub.com/eros-1798200605) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 33% Tomatometer from 66 reviews and a 45% audience score.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005)\n\nBecause Antonioni died in 2007, *Eros* stands as his final film and the end of his 45-year collaboration with the screenwriter Tonino Guerra, who co-wrote the Italian segment.[3](https://metrograph.com/film/9999000989-eros/) The film has since circulated on home video and digital rental, and it was shown in 35mm at repertory venues such as Metrograph and MoMA, which framed it as a throwback to the European omnibus films of the 1950s.[12](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/3728)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Eros DVD review, DVDBeaver](https://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews15/eros_dvd_review.htm)\n2. [Two directors in homage to a third, Los Angeles Times (2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-10-ca-eros10-story.html)\n3. [Eros, Metrograph](https://metrograph.com/film/9999000989-eros/)\n4. [Eros (2004), FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/49300.html)\n5. [Эрос 2004, Киноафиша](https://www.kinoafisha.info/movies/221318/)\n6. [Eros (2004), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343663/)\n7. [Eros, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005)\n8. [World Cinemas: transnational auteurism chapter on Eros](https://manchevski.com/docs/WORLD_CINEMAS.pdf)\n9. [EROS (2004), Panorama-cinéma](https://www.panorama-cinema.com/html/critiques/eros.htm)\n10. [Eros, The A.V. Club (2005)](https://www.avclub.com/eros-1798200605)\n11. [Eros, MUBI](https://mubi.com/es-es/us/films/eros)\n12. [Eros. 2004, MoMA](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/3728)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Individual short films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Eros (2004 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Eros (2004 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Eros (2004 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-2004-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Eros is a 2004 three-part anthology film on love and sex by Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, and Michelangelo Antonioni, conceived as a tribute and Antonioni's final film." }