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Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Director: Michel Gondry Rated: M Palace Nova Cinemas Opens Thurs 15 April 
Although we are only nearing the beginning of April, I can safely suggest that there is now a second film to rival Sofia Coppola's magical 'Lost In Translation' for the honour of best film of the year. Champion screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ('Being John Malkovich', 'Adaptation', 'Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind'), and well-known music video director Michel Gondry team up for the second time after their rarely seen first outing, 'Human Nature'.When Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is dumped by his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), he makes an obvious attempt to rekindle the romance with an early Valentine's Day present, only to be met by vacant stares and a lack of recognition. After discovering that Clementine has undertaken a new experimental process by Dr Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), that erases all memories of him from her mind, Joel is dumbfounded. Despite the warnings from Dr Mierzwiak, Joel is adamant that he wants the same techniques performed in order to remove all memories of Clementine from his mind. However, as Dr Mierzwiak's associates, Stan (Mark Ruffalo), Mary (Kirsten Dunst), and Patrick (Elijah Wood) undertake the task of performing the alteration process, Joel begins to relive all of the memories that are being erased, within the confines of his own mind. As these experiences begin to disappear in front of his eyes, Joel realises that he must find a way to hold onto these memories that are far more valuable than he ever realised. While Gondry might have been in the shadow of some of his contemporaries such as Spike Jonze ('Being John Malkovich', 'Adaptation'), with 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' he smashes any pre-conceptions about his ability being solely limited to music videos and shorter mediums. This film also exceeds the work of his contemporaries and confirms his position as possibly the most visually inventive director working today. With the assistance of Kaufman, Gondry creates his own universe - a universe unlike any other - the brilliance of which has only previously been visible in brief glimpses within some of his music videos. 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' is the type of film that cinema was created for, an experience unlike any other that is so enjoyable and simultaneously inventive that it will be remembered for years to come.  |
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