Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Reviews

When I first saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I wasn't expecting to love it, let alone like it. What a surprise when I saw it! I think this film is wonderful in every aspect, truly beautiful and packs a full emotional punch. In fact, if you don't mind me saying so, it is one of my favourite films of the 2000s.

I especially loved how Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was shot. The whole film looks beautiful, not only with the cinematography which is indeed spellbinding but also in the scenery which was nothing short of amazing. Another impressive asset was the soundtrack/score. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind doesn't have the best soundtrack/score I have ever heard in my life, but the score makes the film all the more moving, while the soundtrack is well selected and appropriate.

I was also very taken with the story. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has one beautifully constructed story I can tell you, with an almost poignant message about it. It is strange and bizarre yes, but neither of those are bad, quite the contrary. Then there is the script which is both poignant and funny, not to mention very deep. The pacing very rarely feels boring if at all, and the direction is adept.

I have very little to complain about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind's performances either. As good as the supporting performances are especially from the always splendid Tom Wilkinson, I have to give the real kudos to the leads. Jim Carrey has done some good performances in some good films, The Mask, Liar Liar, The Cable Guy and Bruce Almighty showcase his comedy talents wonderfully, but this and The Truman Show show he is perfectly good at drama too. He is very understated here, but it works as he still manages to be likable all the same. The real star though is Kate Winslet. A beautiful and captivating actress, Winslet is absolutely perfect in her role.

Overall, wonderful film. Bizarre yes, but very tender and poignant helped by the exceptional performances and cinematography. 10/10 Bethany Cox

(NX) Great argument with tooches of science fiction and romantic drama, too formalist and arty; but there's some images the stands precious for the film: the frozen river Charles, the house in Long Beach...

Hace tiempo atrás solía gustar de esta película por la creativa dirección y química de personajes, pero deteniéndome a razonar el concepto a profundidad quita mucho de su valor. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind rompe con el molde de películas románticas convencionales bajo una premisa de ciencia ficción en relación a las memorias y su valor en la formación y experiencias de una persona. Es una película fuertemente basado en la sorpresa de su narrativa así que habrá serios spoilers.

El tema se explora bien en relación a sus elementos ficticios. Hay una maquina capaz de borrar memorias a la gente para olvidar a lo que han perdido. Nuestro romance entonces se separa bajo la influencia de tal maquina luego de pelearse el uno a los otro. La película logra confundirnos ya que no está narrada cronológicamente sino a través de las memorias del personaje de Jim Carrey quien se va dando cuenta lentamente que está perdiendo sus recuerdos con su novia. No es fácil de notar a la primera y cuando veas la imagen completa de los eventos ves lo bien que está manejado. A nivel estructural es muy competente en confundirte a la par que conoces a los personajes a fondo, nunca te explica que pasó de forma redundante; tiene la decencia de esperar que comprendas por ti mismo.

Ahora, fuera de la estructura, la exploración de personajes y el tema, la película es muy vacía, y sonará que estoy contradiciendo con lo que he mencionado hasta que te pones a pensar en el concepto que no es otra cosa que amnesia. La amnesia es la peor herramienta argumental para limitar la cantidad de información, en efecto la trama se basa en recuperar lo que los personajes ya habían tenido en un inicio sin un cambio de verdad. A esto nos lleva el siguiente dilema, no hay un progreso real en los personajes, siguen siendo los mismos de inicio a fin, no hay desarrollo, es volver al status quo donde empezaron.

Los personajes son queribles pues el dúo principal son un hombre afeminado y una chica de ensueño como las que caen del cielo en los isekais, pero que a diferencia de los protagonistas genéricos de isekai se hacen novios de una vez, el sexo está involucrado y su relación se estanca por falta de comunicación. Eso está bien, lo que no está bien es el mismo concepto de las memorias como método de control en los personajes. En efecto los personajes pueden cambiar mucho cuando se les implanta cierto tipo de memorias. Esto es usado como un medio de exploración sobre nuestras relaciones y cómo podríamos ser manipulados por otros si nuestro banco de datos es hackeado y modificado. La cosa es, eso arruina hasta cierto punto a los personajes ya que pueden cambiar a como se les pegue la gana. La película inicia con Jim Carrey siendo una persona completamente diferente a la línea donde está dentro de su mente. Al mismo tiempo, este segmento donde interactúa con la representación mental de su novia terminan como pérdida de tiempo porque de todas formas le borraron la memoria.

La estructura narrativa le da muchos pluses a la obra, pero sólo momentáneamente, una vez deduces el orden de los eventos, es sencilla a la hora de armar los eventos y se simplifica demasiado. No es una película que amerite tanto al haber de hecho pocos eventos de inicio a fin. Una mitad se va en las memorias que fueron destruidas y devueltas después, un cuarto se va en eventos pasados, y el resto se queda en el presente, la mayoría del film carece de contenido y la tensión es falsa.

Entonces, tenemos un tema interesante que no deja secuelas verdaderas en sus personajes y sin mucho contenido de verdad y cuyo atractivo es un twist, el drama de una pareja medianamente creíble y los efectos especiales que para ser una producción semi-independiente de la prima mitad de los 2000 son más competentes y creativos que el 90% de las producciones actuales. No que por meras ilusiones me logre interesar una película, Memento era también de un hombre con amnesia que quería recuperar sus recuerdos en una narrativa rota basada en ir en reversa mientras recupera sus memorias, de nuevo, el personaje no es tan interesante, pero los eventos que pasan a su alrededor por sus acciones afectan su vida en el presente y viceversa y cuando los recupera su vida ya está jodida sin forma de volver atrás, lo que involucra: narrativa creativa, eventos que trascienden a su actitud en el presente no positivamente del todo, tensión alta, exploración temática y psicológica y sobre todo no quedarte estancado. 

Apartado visual: 10/10

Dirección general 2/2 (creativa)

Actuación 2/2 (tiene a Jim Carrey)

Escenografía 2/2 (fantástica, en ambos sentidos)

Cinemáticas 2/2 (alocadas)

Efectos especiales 2/2 (extravagantes)

Apartado acústico: 10/10

Actuación de voz 3/3 (profesional)

Banda sonora 4/4 (excelente)

Mezcla de sonido 3/3 (criptica)

Trama: 4/10 

Base 1/2 (amnesia)

Ritmo 1/2 (lento)

Complejidad 2/2 (alta)

plausibilidad 0/2 (no hay)

Conclusión 0/2 (status quo)

Personajes: 5/10

Presencia: 1/2 (pasiva)

Personalidad 2/2 (todos)

Profundización 2/2 (todos)

Desarrollo 0/2 (status quo)

Catarsis 0/2 (status quo)

Importancia: 6/10

Valor histórico 3/3 (De las más recordadas del actor y el guionista)

revisita 1/3 (es una mirada de una vez)

Memorabilidad 2/4 (para ser un romance al menos no es genérica)

Disfrute: 5/10

Los twists son excelentes, pero la trama es volver al inicio. 

Calificación: 5/10 

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is confusing but amazing! The plot is actually quite complicated but is very well told and interesting! Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet make a great screen duo, the script is amazing and there's some great direction from Michel Gondry!

a crazy movie about the crazy mind. a highly emotional movie that is an outstanding concept, erasing memories. Jim Carry in this movie is at his peak and doesn't disappoint, Kate Winslet plays his ex girlfriend whom he tries to erase from his memory through a "procedure".
This film is highly emotional and highly thoughtful one of my favorites. A must watch

9/10

Eternal Sunshine is one of those films I have trouble writing about, not only because I want everyone to experience it for themselves but because I worry that I'd only get lost in my platitudes. So perfect is every element -- the editing, the direction, the off-the-wall yet piercing script, the acting -- and so expertly and originally are they arranged that it stands on its own island. It boasts career-best performances from Carrey and Winslet, and at the very least all the other actors put in excellent work. Kaufman's script might lack the ambition of his later opus Synecdoche, New York and the wit of Adaptation, but he injects such a knowing sadness and hope into the film that he finally proves true the saying so many dismiss as pithy: 'twas better to have loved and lost than never loved at all.

"In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds."

Oh no, wait-- that's the other one; we would never like that. What would we like instead?

"Well, technically speaking, the procedure is brain damage."

Oh, good.

Or, maybe.... not so good.

Yeah, this is a little creepy.

But I guess that it's all okay, since Scifi has successfully created a girlfriend story that's so disturbing, that it's not even close to being comedy instead of drama.

Good job, Scifi, way to show the world, man.

"The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return."

Wow, what a bunch of perverts, right.

But at least we freed outselves.

We're independent, man.

Legally speaking, no one can stop us from damaging our brains.... in our minds.

....

Yes, my friends, I have great power.

Because I have brain control.

I have brain control, and I know everything.

And I release you.

(6/10)

Recently watched this movie about a month ago. Its a very good movie about lonliness...being single...and being shy and afraid. Watch it!

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."
- Alexander Pope

Joel and Clementine, once a happy couple, break-up. Joel can't take Clementine out of his head so he decides to patch up. He then learns an unbelievable truth that she had a clinic named Lacuna "erase" all of her memories related to Joel. Joel too out of anger decides to take on the procedure of erasing Clementine-memories from his head.

Okay, I know what some may think. This is totally weird, right? But with Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriters, weird stories always become entertaining that has undeniably smart elements. Eternal Sunshine remains their best work to date. It's an unforgettable psychological journey in a person's brain, his dreams, his desires captured with such contrast and vivid beauty that you will be left asking for more. At first, we feel quite envious of the technology that literally removes "pain" from our minds. The direction and screenplay capture this magnificently by taking us in Joel's head and actually showing us in their way how it happens. But soon this desire dies out with a deep emotion of dissatisfaction. Because Joel watches these memories fade away, he gets a second chance to relive them. He then understands that memories, however painful, are vital. I really wanted this erasing thing to exist in real life at first but then the film's extremely strong presentation made me change my mind. This impressive part makes the whole non-linear experience unexpected, thought-provoking and excites us to a higher level of curiosity.

Once Eternal Sunshine grips us through it's smart allegory, it keeps getting better and better. What I loved most was the unexpected conclusion that forces us to wonder about the fate of the characters. What I loved more is that the film also never forgets the supporting cast, especially the "erasers" who work at Lacuna. During the erasing scene, which is the highlight of the entire film, the film kind of switches back and forth from Joel's memories to the real world. They show us the interaction of the Lacuna gang (Elijah Wood, Kirstin Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson). As we surge through Joel's emotions, theirs too is not overlooked. The screenplay smartly shows us how we human beings feel emotions, how we look at the person who's memory we are erasing and the person who's having it erased. In Short, Eternal Sunshine has a weird but differently smart screenplay that works which also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2005. The Direction has a wonderful "flow" in it. The Cinematography has a beautiful colorful saturation and the score, wow, it just syncs with the flow. The film has impressive visual effects too that adds to the stunning imagery of Joel's memories.

Now, the acting. First of all, I have never seen Jim Carrey act a serious character before. Joel is boring, dull, seeks solitude. I still wonder how he did that. This proves that Jim Carrey is more of a versatile actor rather than a comedian. Kate Winslet portrays the energetic, over-talkative Clementine, a complete opposite of Joel. She was nominated for the Oscar for this role and it's quite worth it. The most difficult part is bringing two completely opposites together to love each other which is pulled off perfectly by the two artists. Then comes the Lacuna gang. Wow, another surprise here. Their acting was realistic, if simply put.

In conclusion, Eternal Sunshine is a spotless masterpiece. It's that piece of cinema that tries to approach film-making from a whole new perspective and the result is memorable. The film convinced me of the moral fact that even if you put someone out of your memory, you can't put them out of your heart. Be sure to check out Gondry's Being John Malkovich, another weird but thought-provoking film.

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Great movie but at some points your mind gets lost with whatever is going on, you just need to think but not to much.. then you will really undertand the beauty of this film