Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind [DVD] [2004]

There's just too many good things about 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' to mention, it's hard to fit into one line. To be honest, the first time I saw this film, I was quite baffled, confused and didn't understand most of it at all - which was inevitably what brought me back to watching it again and again... and again. A first impression of the film title basically gives you an idea of what sort of film this is - "hmm, don't understand that"/"what does that mean?"/"spotless mind...wuh?". To understand the real enigma of this film is to really feel emotionally involved with the story and the characters. If you put yourself in the position of Joel or Clementine, for instance (and also with the help of some breathtaking acting by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet), you will feel like you are actually in the shoes of the character. The script touches brilliance in imagination and originality from start to finish. It's visually stunning, but no special effects... just plain simple movie magic. It's clever, funny, sad and thought-provoking, much like most films screenwritten by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), and has a European wit and creativity from the direction of French director Michel Gondry. It's a piece of art. 'Eternal Sunshine' is a Romantic/Comic/Fantasy love story. It's about a couple (Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski) who are in a struggling relationship, and Clementine decides to erase her memory of Joel, as does Joel of Clementine afterwards. The cast all give fantastic performances. It's almost completely told in reverse order, and there's a lot of changing around as the audience is taken into a journey of Joel Barish's mind... If you're not into films that make you think and talk about for days afterwards with your friends... well, you simply don't like films. This is a classic example of a great film doing just that. To be honest, I would be working on my coursework instead of writing this review if it wasn't that good of a film - but it most certainly is, and I just need to boast the brilliance, the beauty, the celestial dreamlike charm and grace, and why it needs everyone's attention. Yeah, i was touched...

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's better-received Being John Malkovich was an amusing but cold oddity; director Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep was not particularly amusing and sickly cute. Sandwiched between was this loving, subtly cautionary romantic 'dramedy' about a young man, Joel (Jim Carrey), undergoing a fantastical scientific operation to remove all memory of his ex-girlfriend, the eccentric Clementine (Kate Winslet). The procedure draws him deep into his subconscious, and we're invited along for the ride. This second collaboration between Kaufman and Gondry (after 2001's Human Nature) has deservedly become something of a cult favourite. Forget Garden State: while Eternal Sunshine shares a desire to explore the truth behind the human condition through a skewed fish-eye lens, it is mercifully free of that film's cloying sentimentality, its narcissism, and its contempt for a mainline predefined as banal. In Garden State, people are kooky but phoney, shallow and self-absorbed; Eternal Sunshine's Joel, meanwhile, is powerless against his absorption into the strange fearful passions of his dreams. With impressive psychological literacy, Kaufman and Gondry's film shows us the selfishness of human desire and are - crucially - critical of it. Hollywood loves nothing more than to make lovers of ill-suited characters thrown together by circumstance. Not so here: the joy of watching Joel and Clementine's relationship blossom - and fade - is that it is a product of choice as much as chance, and so it is believable. Winslet puts in a signature performance; her Clementine is the extrovert to Carrey's Joel. Carrey, meanwhile, scribbles out his signature entirely: nary a mug passes across his face. His is a soulful turn of poise and intelligence. Eternal Sunshine finds its home on DVD - by the third or fourth viewing you should have the fractured narrative pretty much sussed. Plus, it's ideal night-in viewing: warm, friendly, funny, and profound. In a cynical and ironic era, it's heartening to watch a film that finds love so alive and so precious. A classic.

Great film and the DVD arrived on time and in great condition.

It's complicated.... no, that's another film! Eternal Sunshine (Of The Spotless Mind) is not a film you watch to unwind to; which is what I did one evening and by the time the opening credits had passed by no more than ten minutes I was lost (it has an unusually long intro of some seventeen minutes). At the end of the film I thought, " What was that all about?".... but I'd missed the point. It is a very clever film that requires your full attention or you just don't get it. I watched it again, this time more awake, and found it fascinating. Still with the odd moment of confusion but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will gladly watch it again. Kate Winslet is brilliant - wacky, brash and in your face but ultimately wonderful. Jim Carey is really very good as the more serious partner and he narrates the juxtaposed events; the other cast members admirably support the story also. There's a great twist at the end, which finishes the film very well and, all in all (without trying to précis the scenario complexities) the film is very well worth watching. Complicated.... yes, clever.... definitely, enjoyable.... certainly (unless you're a bit too relaxed), worth watching.... without a doubt. In the end it's almost flawless, if not eternally radiant, and I loved it!

Scénario du film passionnant joué par un acteur peu coutumier du genre mais qui assure.

Von dem Moment an, als ich 2004 in Neuseeland das Filmplakat zu dem Film gesehen habe, wollte ich den Film sehen. Schon der Satz "You can erase someone from your heart - but can you also erase someone from your mind?" hat mich berührt. Dann auch noch Jim Carrey in einer ernsten Rolle - ich war glaube ich gleich in den ersten Tagen, als er lief, im Kino. Und ich war echt begeistert! Geschichte, Schauspieler, Musik, Farben - alles top! Die Geschichte ist nicht einfach zu verstehen beim ersten Mal, aber berührt Herz und Kopf. Jim Carrey ist auch so ein super Schauspieler, genial. Irgendwie macht es mich immer besonders traurig, den Blödelbarden in ernsten Rollen zu sehen, in diesem Film ist er ja oft regelrecht verzweifelt. Und er hat irgendwie auch ein ziemlich durchgearbeitetes Gesicht, für einen Comedystar... Weinende Clowns haben echt etwas Trauriges... Fazit: Wenn ihr einen ungewöhnlichen Film wollt, der euer Herz und euren Kopf berührt - nehmt Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind! Habe den vor einigen Tagen mit Freunden angeschaut, am Anfang waren noch Gespräche, aber der Film fing an und es war ruhig - bis zum Ende...

Había oído comentarios sobre esta película muy buenos, así que me decidí a comprarla. No me ha defraudado: te hace reflexionar sobre hasta qué punto sería bueno poder borrar nuestros recuerdos de una relación que se ha acabado. ¿Estaríamos dispuestos a olvidar no solo todo lo malo sino también los buenos momentos? Muy recomendable como película.

I had a very good time watching it good acting on both of them

I love this movie, I've seen it before, it's one of my favorites but the DVD I bought is for Region 2 (NOT US) could have make it a little more clear that this won't play in my DVD player. Thanks a lot.