Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

How de we categorize Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Is it a science fiction? Is it romance? Is it neosurrealism? Let’s just call it a great film which, like any great film, will transcend the boundaries of movie genre. Again this is another Godard type of film with more rapid cuttings between scenes, and a fragmented plot structure which portrays perfectly the fragmented memories of Joel Barish (Jim Carey). Charlie Kaufman is the only writer/director I know that is obsess with the mystery of the human mind. Before this movie, he wrote Being John Malkovich, and then later directed his own movie in Synecdoche New York. His masterpiece, however, has to be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is one those rare ‘puzzle movies’ like Memento and In The Mood For Love that rewards repeated viewing. As a movie viewer, I am constantly looking for movies that will surprise my perception and understanding of life. I don’t go to movies looking for facts or real life people and events. That is not the purpose of art. We don’t look at a Monet still life painting in hoping the fruit will taste sweet or sour. What we want is the aesthetical satisfaction. What we want is the cinematic satisfaction. And Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind can give us that satisfaction.