Du soleil plein la tête

The first time I saw this movie I found it confusing, a little artsy for my taste and I didn't get it.

But I didn't come in here to give it a 1 point rating or a damning review just because I didn't get it. It would be kind of stupid to pass judgement on a film that I didn't fully understand.

Some years later I watched it for the second time. My ex had just left me, and I don't remember how and why I came by this movie again. But the second time I got it. And how life would be like a bleak dessert, frozen in time, in the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind.

And after watching it a second time I felt hopeful again.

Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) falls for Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) from the first moment they meet on a train. After a bad breakup, Clementine erases Joel from her memories. He decides to do the same to her. Patrick (Elijah Wood), Stan (Mark Ruffalo), and Mary (Kirsten Dunst) are the three slacker technicians who are running Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson)'s machine. As his memories are eliminated, he starts to fall in love with Clementine all over again. He struggles to hold on to his memories before it's all gone.

The premise is amazing, but it's the imaginative visualization of the process that puts in on another level. Jim Carrey pours his heart into this very difficult disjointed performance. It's very effecting and probably one of his best non-impersonation performance. In its core, it's a beautiful love story. It's funny. It's poignant.

Before the i watched this movie, everyone said it's overrated, overrated, oooooooverrated. And after these returns i thought it's overrated. WHATEVER This movie has a good story and awesome acting performance. But, most important for me: AWESOME EDITING!!! Lovely soundtrack and cool side story into the bargain! ENJOY IT!

There's only one way to describe "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind": perfect. It's been one week since I saw the movie and I still cannot stop thinking about it. Was the ending happy or sad? I cannot tell, but it's deeply touching.

Charlie Kaufman is incredible. How does he come up with all these original, flawless scripts? Finally there's someone who uses the possibilities of cinema to the fullest. I love the way Kaufman shows the fate of individuals and derives universally true rules from it. The content of his story is always highly philosophical without ever being smart alec.

Some say "Eternal Sunshine..." was over-directed. I disagree. Having read the script, I know that Gondry deserves lots of credit for bringing this beautiful story to life. Sure, there are five creepy images per minute, but have you ever seen such an original, weird picture? Mind you, I'm not saying that lots of effects automatically make for a good direction, but in this case it really helped to underline the story, not distracting from it.

Jim Carrey... wow! I've always liked him as the hilarious Comedian he is, but I never thought that his performances in "The Truman Show" and "Man On The Moon" were that much of a departure from his funny-man side. As Joel, however, he is a completely different person. It's like Jim Carrey had a serious twin brother. Unbelievable. I bow to this performance! Give this man more chances to show his acting abilities, I say!

Finally I have to mention Beck's cover of "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime", which fits perfectly into the movie and won't leave my CD-Player for the next months.

A movie like "Eternal Sunshine..." really shows how much time and money Hollywood wastes on producing crap like "Bad Boys" or "The Fast & The Furious", and its box office result demonstrates how little people care about quality in movies. Personally, I have found my first contender for best motion picture of the year. I need to see the movie again, because I have a feeling that this one gets even better with each viewing. I can't wait until it's released on DVD.

I feel the need to say more, but I can't put my feelings into (English) words. All I can say is: GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You won't regret it.

Joel and Clementine have reached breaking point in their relationship, every action, every word triggers the other, so much so, that they each undergo a procedure to remove all trave of the other.

How wonderful a thought, being able to remove all trace of an ex, better still having them remove all trace of you.

It has taken me years to get this film, years, I simply didn't get it, I'd tried several times over the years, it just never clicked, until now. If you're frustrated by the first twenty minutes, I urge you to give it another try.

We've all been there, hurt by a relationship, pushed to the point of despair, how wonderful it would be to remove all trace, it's a wonderful concept, but real life doesn't allow for that, however in film, anything is possible.

Wonderfully nightmarish, but sweet and tender at times too, the moments of hate and loathing are eclipsed by Joel and Clem's tender scenes.

The only thing I can think of that had similar vibes, was Total Recall, dissimilar in most aspects, but that whole memory manipulation theme is similar.

I have forever been a fan of Jim Carrey, and I would regard this as one of his best performances, he's terrific, as is Kate Winslet, the pair combined so well.

9/10.