Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[Bobtheduck]

How many people have seen this? It stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The basic premise is that a guy is "erased" from his girlfriend's mind after they get into a fight, so he decides to get the procedure done (externally out of a desire to escape, but also out of a desire for some sort of 'revenge') As he goes through the procedure, he realizes he doesn't want to lose some of the memories he had of her, so he tries to hide them away, to prevent them from being erased...

This is written by Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation and Being John Malkovich), neither of which I've seen, and directed by Michel Gondry, who also worked with Kaufman on the horrible movie "Human Nature" which I do not recommend... Just my own opinion... In any case, despite not liking Carrey much, not liking Titanic (winslet), and hating Human Nature (Kaufman and Gondry), this movie, somehow, is ONLY put under To End All Wars because the latter managed to pull of being that good and have been written by and directed by a Christian with a Christian message underlying it... Structurally, Eternal Sunshine is better...

Ok... The first time I saw it, I immediately identified with Jim Carrey's character. The narrative he gave at the very beginning could have come from my pen (or my keyboard) It was frightening how on target it was. Of course, I'm not nearly that closed... I think my Plumbline fixed that (I don't expect anyone to know that that is.) Aside from that, Joel Barish... is me. This movie is so powerfull... I watched it 7 times. I've got scenes memorized, and hearing the music instantly gets me thinking...

This movie is Genius... Kaufman and Gondry made an excelent story. Carrey and Winslet were incredible, so hauntingly realistic and meaningfull... If I have any complaints, it would be Elijah Wood... He was good in The Good Son and went downhill from there... Other than that, everyone else was great. Kirstin Dunst made for a rather unlikeable character (in my opinion) but did a great job at it...

The events of the movie unfold in reverse chronological order (well, in correct chronological order, depending on whether you consider the "erasure" your axis for chronology, or the relationship itself) starting with their fight, the fresh memories of relationship hell, and goes backwards until you realize why they got together to begin with...

Besides the plot and acting, another thing I like is the music... It's not something anyone would listen to by itself unless they had seen the movie In addition to the distortion created in the scenes inside Joel's head, the music is distorted in a way that pulls important memories out of their hiding places... One, for instance, called "Collecting things", manages to evoke the sense of loss you feel when you give up something like when you sell your PS2 for money to pay for food... Giving something up that you think will be worth it, even though there's the tearing you have when you give it up, and you're not even sure that giving it up will be good for you (you may be able to stretch your budget to get more food, and not have to sell a 150 dollar machine for 20 bucks...) I mean, all of that is what I think about with this music...

It is impossible for me to truly explain what exactly it is I like about this movie, or why it is touches me on such a deep level... Anyhow, anyone seen it? I wonder if it affects people even close to as much as it affects me...

By the way, I am in Love with Clementine Kryzinski... that is all.

[button="off topic"]Hey, gramarians, what would you say to helping me find the phrase/term I am looking for in that bold... I know that can*t be right, but I can*t think of a more appropriate term to use there...[/button]

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"Joel, I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a *cough* up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours." Clem

[EvilSporkofDoom]

wow, I just saw this movie about a week ago.. I liked it because it was unpredictable and mind-twisting, and it's difficult to find movies that aren't cliched with contrived endings. I loved the premise, because I could relate to it - before I even watched it, I had wished that I could somehow get amnesia and erase the memory of my ex forever. Overall, it's a good, thought-provoking movie that I'd recommend to anyone.

[Gypsy]

Bump to clean troll spam. Carry on.

[shooraijin]

My baby sister loved this movie. I'm going to have to check it out; I'm very intrigued by movies with unique concepts or clever visual style.

[ShiroiHikari]

I really want to see this. this and Lost In Translation are both on my "to rent" list.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I have seen this movie, and as much as I've seen, I realize that I need to see it again to truly understand it. I got the basic premise down with the first viewing, but as to the meaning of the movie, what Kaufman and Goundry were trying to portray or communicate by it, I am still pondering. I do sympathize with Joel, and empathize with Clemintine as well. I also admire the cinematography as well - there are many beautiful shots. I've gotta watch it again.

[Camuel]

Great movie... i did guess the chronology when they met on the train.. but still really enjoyed it

[Zedian]

It's a great film, I've never expected Jim Carey to act as serious as he does in this movie. To me, it was surely one of the top four movies this past year.

It gets' kinda weird later on, as Jim Careys' character begins to search more and more for his memory of Kate Winslets' character. The film is sometimes quiet yet moody, other times melodramatic...it just seemed so real how the two were as a couple.

I'm also a fan of Charlie Kaufman who wrote and directed Adaptation (Which uses numerous plant analogies) and Being John Malkovich.

[Scribs]

I really loved this movie. The concept is a very interesting one. What would life be without memories? I we could not remember doing something, it would almost seem like doing it would have had no point. Great movie.