Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This post stayed forgotten in my drafts for some reason. Original date of writing this text was August 2021.

I watched this movie with my wife today. I already did see it once when I was in university, but honestly, didn't remember much about it apart from that it was related to some sort of amnesia. But it's good that I got a chance to watch it again, as I couldn't have appreciated it this way 10 years ago.

Let me start by saying that the movie has tons and tons of good points. The acting of both Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet is marvelous. They add such a good layer of taste onto the film, without them, the movie wouldn't be what it is now.

What I loved about the movie is how it approaches the relationships honestly: They are a mess. Our mess. We dabble in things we can't internalise, we break each other's heart over and over again, just to glue it back together right afterwards. It's not easy to love someone, or be in a relationship. Some days it's fishing over the calm waters, some days it's holding onto your boat and your dear life in a dark storm.

The idea of erasing someone from our memories is intriguing, the type of technology would probably get adopted by millions right away. The complications it would create aside, maybe it would be better for humanity if we could just forget some things. We are obsessed with what's wrong with our lives because we have no other choice than face it. Although it is probably unhealthy the avoid our own mechanisms, this type of technology, if applied correctly, would reduce the overall stress of being human. But it also could unleash new batches of sociopaths into the society, or can be used to cover up crimes in a more creative way. All in all, this tech has its pros and cons.

Though the movie has some great points, I can't say that I loved it. I never liked the high paced horror movie tension in any movie, and despite the fact that the cinematography is objectively amazing in this particular movie, it's difficult for my brain to grasp what's going on. The erasure scenes where Joel runs around while holding Clementine's hand may be amazing for most. For me, they were chaotic and the end of the movie couldn't come soon enough.