“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” “An unforgettable lover” that awakens memories of love

Everything about love is depicted

Okay. That's where the formality ends. It was a stretch, but I first encountered this work when I was a third year high school student living in the countryside of Hokuriku. I didn't watch it at the movie theater (it might not have been showing in the first place), but I rented the jacket at a local video rental store and watched it. So, at that time, I didn't know anything about ``the production background...'' or ``movie history...''.

When I first saw ``Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,'' I was simply blown away by the level of fun I had never felt before. I cried with sadness. And before I knew it, I was aiming for a career in the film industry. This movie has the power to change someone's life. I use myself as proof of that.

The setting is interesting, the visuals are new, the gorgeous cast of Jim Carrie, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Mark Ruffalo is wonderful, and most of all, it stuck in my heart. The reason why I felt so strongly that this movie was no good.

That's because it depicts everything about love.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

You meet someone, talk to someone, develop a liking for them, confess your feelings, bond with them, clash with them, pass each other, get tired of them, fall out of love with them, talk to them again, and break up. And even after that, life continues to be cruel. After the lover returns to someone else, all that remains are memories and remnants of memories. Proof that the two were indeed lovers back then. This movie tries to erase even that.

She suddenly left, erasing all memories of the two of them. There's no way they'll ever get back together. I was so sad that I decided to erase my memories as well. But I noticed. The girl in his memory was the only one he could shower his love on.

The memory removal surgery looks back at the memories of the two of them one by one and destroys them. When you realize that all of the happy and painful events are precious memories, there is nothing left to do. In the real world, she has already started a new life. My surgery will be over soon. In a little while, there will be no love at all.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Still, the protagonist resists. He tries to save his lover from his own erased memories. This "escape with no reward" is incredibly sad. The ``girlfriend'' in the protagonist's mind is completely different from the actual person, and saving her has no effect. Even if you let her escape from memory removal, the pain will not go away. Because memory and pain are the same thing.

But why?

Because I still like it.

Even if we can't walk together anymore, I'll try to save her if she's about to disappear right in front of my eyes. This work perfectly depicts the contradictory feelings one feels after a heartbreak: ``I want to erase it, but I don't want to.'' As a result, Joel realizes the depth of his feelings for Clementine during the memory removal procedure and falls in love with her all over again.

“Innovation and universality” that attracts many people