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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

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When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories. But it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.

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437 ( 25)
Top Rated Movies #85 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 67 wins & 103 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Ryan Whitney ...
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Brian Price ...
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Young Bully (as Paul Litowski)
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Storyline

A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. Written by anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

This Spring, clear your mind See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

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Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind  »

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$8,175,198 (USA) (19 March 2004)

Gross:

$34,126,138 (USA) (18 June 2004)
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(as dts)|

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Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

"Thanks" to its Italian title translation ("Se mi lasci ti cancello"), every Italian watching the movie had been expecting a comedy and surely they were disappointed. Instead, the movie is very dramatic and very saddening. The right translation of the title should be "L'eterno splendore d'una mente immacolata". See more »

Goofs

Near the end of the film when Mary is walking around the corner with her box of belongings and cassettes, the man walking directly behind her disappears for one shot. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Joel: [voice over] random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.
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Crazy Credits

The text in the opening credits appears quickly and then slowly withers away, like a memory. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Doug's Top 10 Hottest Women (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Concerto No. 8 in D Major, Opus 99
by Charles-Auguste de Bériot
Courtesy of Naxos of America
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Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

 
A warm hearted original love story

After a lukewarm reception in 2001 with "Human Nature", Charlie Kaufman has teamed up with director, Michel Gondry again for this romatic fantasy. With a name like Jim Carrey, this second collaboration couldn't go wrong in terms of box office success, and nor should it as this film is quite simply brilliant.

"Eternal Sunshine" centres around the life of Joel (Jim Carrey) a shy, mild mannered man who is heart broken after splitting from his feisty, impulsive girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet). A short while after their split, he meets her again while she is working at a library and he is stunned to discover that she doesn't recognise him. He later finds out that the reason for this is that Clementine has had her memory of Joel wiped out completely. Dr Howard Mierwick (Tom Wilkinson) has performed an operation on her brain after Clementine visited his clinic to forget Joel. Much to Joel's distress, he decides to do the same, but during his operation he revisits memories of Clementine that he struggles to let go of.

If anyone was in doubt as to whether Jim Carrey can act, this is the film that will put all doubt out of the way. He performs with sensitivity and warmth, never once verging on the manic rubber faced lunacy to which he is most well known for. Out of all the perfomances where he has stepped into the dramtic role (The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, The Majestic), this has got to be his best yet. Kate Winslet is also brilliant as his unpredictable, adventurous girlfriend.

Kaufman's story of a man going into a surreal dream world is not too dissimilar from his earlier work, "Being John Malkovich". You have off the wall images such as Carrey re-enacting his 4 year old self along his journey in his head. The eccentricity of the story, which is Kaufman's trademark, once again works excellently. When watching this you generally care for Carrey and Winslet, in much the same way as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in "Lost In Translation". Gondry's diection gives a bittersweet flavour to the tale.

The sub plots involving the supporting characters who are operating are ingenius. Tom Wilkinson once again proves that he is one of the best British actors of his generation and he is backed up by great performnces from Kirsten Dunst and a post-LOTR Elijah Wood.

This is a lovely film and if you like originality with a sense of fantasy with a love story, then I suggest you see it. It's one of those films you'll want to see twice.


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