Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

20110530, 20110601:
I loved this movie when I saw it in theaters 7 years ago, and I love it still. The plot is deep and beautiful. The idea of love lingering even after one's memories have been erased is just beautiful. I love the non-linearity of the film. The first part of the movie guarantees some hope for the star-crossed lovers Joel and Clementine.

Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) and Joel Barish (Jim Carrey)

Watching the movie on Netflix allowed me to pause during the quotes and do some Googling. The ability to reflect in the middle of the movie definitely changes the experience.

If I were to start a list of my favorite romances, I would definitely put this movie on the list. It'd take me a while to form a complete and solid list, but for now, nominees would include (ordered by year) His Girl Friday (1940), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Harold and Maude (1971), Annie Hall (1977), When Harry Met Sally (1989), and Forrest Gump (1994). Romances with a more serious tone include Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1942), and West Side Story (1961). It so happens I listed a total of 9 movies, for a draft total of my top 10 romances.

Stan Fink (Mark Ruffalo)

If you're looking for a good romance, try watching Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind.

I'd love to hear what some of your favorite romances are.

Note:
The Wikipedia page for the poem Eloisa to Abelard mentions that Charlie Kaufman, the writer for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, was also the writer for Being John Malkovich (1999), a movie which also contains a reference to the poem.

Funny Scene:
Joel's humiliating memory at about 1 hr 10 minutes.

[20110601]

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Instant Comments:
"Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?"
Movie cover on ice at 15 minutes.
Title credits begin at 17 minutes. We see Joel crying about something.
The exciting chase begins around 56 min.
I had forgotten how much of a role Elijah Wood's character plays in the movie.
"Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders."

1 hr 17 min:

"How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each prayer accepted, and each wish resign'd."

I already remember the plot point that comes around 1 hr 20 min, so it wasn't shocking.
Defining moment at 1 hr 30 minutes.
We see him wake up at 1:33 and he sees the scratch on his car.

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Released 20040319.
Watched 20040430 Theater. Park Place 10 [ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF] 9:50pm $7.50
Watched 20110530, 20110601 (Netflix, Instant) (English subtitles)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michel Gondry. 108 min.

Relevant Links:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (IMDb.com)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Wikipedia.org)
Eloisa to Abelard (Wikipedia.org)