I saw Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind last night. I rather enjoyed it. Actually, I really enjoyed it. A lot. I think I will enjoy it even more when I see it again. Everything came together in this film: The acting, the music, the cinematography, the production design, the writing. The Michel Gondry flava was present, but it did not interfere with the story. On the contrary, I think his little tricks worked in the movie, like the shot where Joel walks seamlessly from barnes and noble into David Cross's apartment. Or that very strange shot of Elijah Wood with the gigantic eyes. In the Gondry video collection, you can see how Gondry takes apart the music and then represents it visually. I am now listening the soundtrack of the movie at the Eternal Sunshine website. Again, there is tight relationship between the music and the visuals. Although this time in reverse. I don't think I noticed it while watching the movie. Actually, when I was watching the movie I was only experiencing it on a very basic, emotional, just go with the flow vibe. I am only thinking about the movie more now.
Posted by brad at March 25, 2004 10:21 PMI finally saw this last night. I really really loved it. Its like Gondry recognizes what makes makes memories and dreams what they are. The scenes of clementine disappearing were so jarring and upsetting to me, but the memories were so amazing- so real. Its like even if can tap into something in our collective unconscious that just brings up a familiarity. And everyone has met a girl like Clementine. I just wish Kaufmann would write a male lead who wasn't so completely emotionally inept. I think the way Gondry shot it had a lot to do with the raw emotion of it. All of the lighting and handheld cameras made sets (were they sets) look very real- like you would see them exactly how the characters were. Especially the beach house, where it looked like the whole thing was lit by flashlight almost. Or like we were accidental witnesses to their evening together. It was very moving. I look forward to seeing it again.
Posted by: Avec Ships at March 27, 2004 10:16 AM