Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Je ne comprends pas et ne comprendrai sans doute jamais ce que ce film a de si magique. (13/04/2007)

Whether I want to or not, I need to nag and criticize. The aspects of the film overshadow a certain banality and imperfection of the content... Beneath the shell of perfect visuals (the edit and camera are excellent!) and narrative magic, there is love story that is only briefly sketched psychologically and is not exceptional in any way, and it lacks depth and the hard-to-name magic that "made" Coppola's gem Lost in Translation. Carrey excels and with absolute sovereignty connects the civilian inner and exhibitionist mannerisms of his acting, and Winslet is also deeply immersed in the eccentric Clementine, but they are unable to hide the flatness of the characters and their considerable proclamation and two-dimensionality. The exclusivity of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is aided by the superficial memory-erasing plot that allowed Gondry to play out the audio-visual drama of an escape from the inevitable oblivion that takes place almost entirely in the main character's head. The drama of the end of a relationship between two people, painful disillusionment and an irreversible return to the beginning, which overshadows all the evil that happened after it. It's not boring at all and it warms my soul, but after the film ended I had nothing left but a handful of positive impressions and a very overdone, mundane love story in an exclusive package. Nevertheless, I can only praise the ease with which Gondry et al. work with emotional shades... But I was still expecting more. (20/08/2004)

In one word, a clever film that relies on the screenplay of arguably the best and most creative contemporary Hollywood screenwriter, Andy Kaufman, and which can boast of smart and inventive directing as well as excellent cast. This film is reminiscent of the best Czechoslovak parodies and fantastic movies of the 70s. Playful and intelligent filmmaking. Overall impression: 85%. (18/06/2006)

Everyone here is (rightly) praising Kaufman, but Gondry's direction, full of visual ideas and technical finesse, is just as brilliant as the script. Above all, it's to Gondry's credit that the plot puzzle doesn't fall apart like a house of cards and that the typical "Kaufman-esque" apparent chaos (it may seem so on the first viewing, but it makes perfect sense with the next screening) can be calmly absorbed the first time. In short, directorial work par excellence, which is not surprising, because a guy who has made such amazing videos for Bjork can't be second rate. I like this film more with each viewing, there is something new to find every time and it always manages to beautifully caress the soul. For me, one of the best and most original films of recent years. (29/01/2005)

Originally, I wanted to write a longwinded analysis of my love for this playful jewel of a movie. But after watching it a few times over, I said to myself “to the hell with it". So, in brief: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind simply IS the best movie to be made (not only) over the past years. Want to know why? If that’s the case, you’ll have to watch the fatal relationship of Joel and Clementine (...no jokes about her name!) for yourselves. It’s an experience that’s just indescribable in words. (13/08/2004)