Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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. (08/20/2004)

That was quite a ride... A memory here and there, with the occasional real thing thrown in, and then it would seem impossible to understand. And look! I understood the incomprehensible and misunderstood the comprehensible - a crazy combination, I know, like the speed of Clementine's hair color change. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an amazing journey into the deepest recesses of a lover's soul, where everything seems so real, but let's not be fooled. The great Jim Carrey and the absolutely amazing Kate Winslet may make a completely mismatched pair (which may be just me), but the ways of love are devious. This is definitely one of the most intricate films of the 21st century, and it gave me everything on offer - sweet romance, bitter drama and unadulterated sci-fi ... ...and actually feel great about something so special. (02/24/2011)

An incredible sci-fi romance, characterized by excellent acting performances, but above all, by a genius screenplay written by Charlie Kaufman. Well, Michel Gondry also contributed, after all. Something unique was created, which will either enchant you or make you view it as an oddity, especially if you fail to understand the film. It's not easy, but try to watch it. You won't experience something similar easily. (12/12/2013)

In a word, a smart film, bolstered by a script from arguably the best and most creative contemporary Hollywood screenwriter, Andy Kaufman, and featuring clever, imaginative direction and an excellent cast. This film is reminiscent of the best Czechoslovak parodies and fantastic films of the 1970s. Playful, intelligent filmmaking. Overall impression: 85%. (06/18/2006)

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. (08/12/2004)