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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Trailer
0:31 | Trailer
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories.

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writers:

Charlie Kaufman (story), Michel Gondry (story) | 2 more credits »
Popularity
472 ( 37)
Top Rated Movies #95 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 72 wins & 110 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Carrey ... Joel Barish
Kate Winslet ... Clementine Kruczynski
Gerry Robert Byrne ... Train Conductor
Elijah Wood ... Patrick
Thomas Jay Ryan ... Frank
Mark Ruffalo ... Stan
Jane Adams ... Carrie
David Cross ... Rob
Kirsten Dunst ... Mary
Tom Wilkinson ... Dr. Mierzwiak
Ryan Whitney Ryan Whitney ... Young Joel
Debbon Ayer ... Joel's Mother
Amir Ali Said ... Young Bully
Brian Price Brian Price ... Young Bully
Paulie Litt ... 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:

I already forget how I used to feel about you. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

14A | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The woman with the distorted face in Dr. Mierzwiak's office is Ellen Kuras, the film's director of photography. See more »

Goofs

Mary's hair changes from "windswept" (long shots) to neat (close-up) and back again when talking to Howard outside Joel's apartment, after Howard's wife catches them together and drives off. 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.
See more »

Crazy Credits

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

Connections

Referenced in Conan: The Illiterate Merderer (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

Mere Man Tera Pyasa
Written by Sachin Dev Burman (as S.D. Burman) and Neeraj
Performed by Mohammad Rafi (as Mohd. Rafi)
Courtesy of Universal Music India Private Limited (Mumbai)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
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User Reviews

 
A warm hearted original love story
6 May 2004 | by samuellewis48See all my reviews

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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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook | Universal

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Du soleil plein la tête See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,175,198, 21 March 2004

Gross USA:

$34,400,301

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,036,715
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

DTS (as dts)| Dolby | SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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