Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writers (WGA):

Charlie Kaufman (story) &
Michel Gondry (story) ...

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

I already forget how I used to feel about you.

Plot:

A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.

Plot Keywords:

Memory | Train | Crush | Beach | Elephant

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 36 wins & 50 nominations

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Joel Barish
Kate Winslet	...	Clementine Kruczynski
Gerry Robert Byrne	...	Train Conductor
Elijah Wood	...	Patrick
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Frank
Mark Ruffalo	...	Stan
Jane Adams	...	Carrie
David Cross	...	Rob
Kirsten Dunst	...	Mary
Tom Wilkinson	...	Dr. Howard Mierzwiak
Ryan Whitney	...	Young Joel
Debbon Ayer	...	Joel's Mother
Amir Ali Said	...	Young Bully
Brian Price	...	Young Bully
Paulie Litt	...	Young Bully

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content.

Runtime:

108 min | Turkey:95 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40598) | Iceland:L | India:A | Chile:Y7 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

123 Valentine Lane, Yonkers, New York, USA

Company:

Anonymous Content

Trivia:

Unnoticed visual effects where used in the movie, that were not planned while shooting. In one shot Clem is walking on the street, while a car falls in the background. The whole background was replaced with a CG-background, including Clem's other leg which disappeared, so the remaining leg was done with CGI. Another shot was the house Clem and Joel were breaking into, which collapses in a 4-second shot. All in the shot was done CG.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Mary first comes into Joel's apartment, Patrick and Stan had been drinking beer. At first, just before the door is opened, they are both Rolling Rock (green bottles). After she has entered, Stan's beer turns into a Labatt Blue (brown bottle).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joel: [voice over] random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.

Movie Connections:

References Dumb & Dumber (1994)

Soundtrack:

Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime

Perfect - a movie that puts 99% of all contemporary movies to shame

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.