When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories. But it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
A man creates a strange system to help him remember things; so he can hunt for the murderer of his wife without his short-term memory loss being an obstacle.
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Guy Pearce,
Carrie-Anne Moss,
Joe Pantoliano
In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Malcolm McDowell,
Patrick Magee,
Michael Bates
An insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker, forming an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more...
A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.
Director:
Richard Kelly
Stars:
Jake Gyllenhaal,
Jena Malone,
Mary McDonnell
A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. Written by
anonymous
Members of the public can be seen waving to the camera while Joel is driving in his car. See more »
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.
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Crazy Credits
The credits are right justified, versus the usual center justified credits. See more »
Very nicely crafted science fiction love story. More of an experience than a film.
What? Sci Fi? Well yes. A simple science fiction device, memory erasure, is the vehicle for this beautifully shot, brilliantly edited and directed love fable. The fact that this is a good film does not disqualify it from the sci fi genre. In fact, would-be sci fi writers and film-makers should take note of this.
But Eternal Sunshine is a love story first and last, in all respects. The characters are what John Irving would call "L.A. dysfunctional", although they don't live in L.A. Carrey and Winslet are deeply insecure people with little going for them but good looks (which they try to disguise), fairly sweet dispositions, and a desire for companionship. They meet on Valentine's Day in Montauk, where they have both seemingly traveled 'on a lark', and the entire experience of the film seems to derail from this point forward. Chronological, linear story-telling becomes impossible because the characters are having their memories erased in order to assuage the pain of their separation. No spoilers, so let me stop right there.
If I have made Eternal Sunshine seem like it might be too much of a challenge or too disturbing for an evening's light entertainment, be not afraid. Certainly there are occasional disturbing elements, and the characters themselves are all neurotic enough to have walked off the street and onto the screen. But the film is so artistically rendered, and so well thought-out that what could have been a nightmare really becomes a fantastic post-modern love fable. It's also one of those great films that becomes predictable after a while, but is so delightfully portrayed and satisfying that it does not matter.
The acting is exceptionally good. I would expect nothing else from this cast. Winslet is especially remarkable for her ability to play a young North East American better than most American actresses could. How this genius has been passed up in each of her 4 Oscar nominations to date is inexplicable. Carrey's talent is undeniable, though I dislike many of the films he chooses to take on. His performance here is easily as good as his award-worthy performances in the Truman Show, Bruce Almighty, and Man on the Moon.
We spend a lot of time inside people's heads in this film, yet the camera never becomes a member of the cast as it does in films like "Being John Malkovich". I can pay no higher compliment to the production team. This is a very difficult thing to accomplish, and it is done with flawless simplicity in Eternal Sunshine. This film has just joined Shakespeare in Love, Wild at Heart, and Brokeback Mountain among my favorite all-time love stories. This is the first Michel Gondry film I have seen. I am going to make sure it is not the last.
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Very nicely crafted science fiction love story. More of an experience than a film.
What? Sci Fi? Well yes. A simple science fiction device, memory erasure, is the vehicle for this beautifully shot, brilliantly edited and directed love fable. The fact that this is a good film does not disqualify it from the sci fi genre. In fact, would-be sci fi writers and film-makers should take note of this.
But Eternal Sunshine is a love story first and last, in all respects. The characters are what John Irving would call "L.A. dysfunctional", although they don't live in L.A. Carrey and Winslet are deeply insecure people with little going for them but good looks (which they try to disguise), fairly sweet dispositions, and a desire for companionship. They meet on Valentine's Day in Montauk, where they have both seemingly traveled 'on a lark', and the entire experience of the film seems to derail from this point forward. Chronological, linear story-telling becomes impossible because the characters are having their memories erased in order to assuage the pain of their separation. No spoilers, so let me stop right there.
If I have made Eternal Sunshine seem like it might be too much of a challenge or too disturbing for an evening's light entertainment, be not afraid. Certainly there are occasional disturbing elements, and the characters themselves are all neurotic enough to have walked off the street and onto the screen. But the film is so artistically rendered, and so well thought-out that what could have been a nightmare really becomes a fantastic post-modern love fable. It's also one of those great films that becomes predictable after a while, but is so delightfully portrayed and satisfying that it does not matter.
The acting is exceptionally good. I would expect nothing else from this cast. Winslet is especially remarkable for her ability to play a young North East American better than most American actresses could. How this genius has been passed up in each of her 4 Oscar nominations to date is inexplicable. Carrey's talent is undeniable, though I dislike many of the films he chooses to take on. His performance here is easily as good as his award-worthy performances in the Truman Show, Bruce Almighty, and Man on the Moon.
We spend a lot of time inside people's heads in this film, yet the camera never becomes a member of the cast as it does in films like "Being John Malkovich". I can pay no higher compliment to the production team. This is a very difficult thing to accomplish, and it is done with flawless simplicity in Eternal Sunshine. This film has just joined Shakespeare in Love, Wild at Heart, and Brokeback Mountain among my favorite all-time love stories. This is the first Michel Gondry film I have seen. I am going to make sure it is not the last.