© 2012 Focus Features.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Directed by Michel Gondry Story by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth Joel and Clementine first meet on a train from Montauk, New York. They have completely different personalities but they are attracted to each other.In fact, these two are former lovers. After a big fight, Clementine hires a service to erase him from her memory. It is heartbreaking for Joel to hear and so, he decides to undergo the same procedure. All of his experiences with Clementine are gradually erased from Joel’s memory. Through this process, Joel sees his memories with her, one by one, and comes to know his love for Clementine. After he realizes this, he strives to preserve the remaining memories. Despite his efforts, all of his memories about her are eventually erased. Without recognizing each other, they meet on the train to Montauk for the first time. After returning from Montauk, they are shocked and bewildered to know that they have been erased from each other’s memories. But they eventually decide to accept each other and have a relationship anew, with sincere love for each other this time. The subject used in the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is “erasing the memory.” The two people wanted to erase all the memories about their relationship as they are left with pain and scars despite the fact that they loved each other so much. Maybe everyone hoped, at least once in their life, that they could erase or empty the burdens from their mind. While erasing the scenes stored in his mind, like those in a movie, Joel reflects on himself and wants to keep those scenes. Because he felt those memories were real, he strived to preserve them. However, only after they have been erased completely, he could truly start a new relationship. Joel and Clementine allow us reflect our own lives. The life we have lived – happy or suffering moments – every moment – is stored as a film in our mind, which eventually becomes a burden and pain. Because of this mind, we cannot truly love and only end up hurting each other. More importantly, we cannot live with our true mind which we are not aware of at all.
© 2012 Focus Features.
When the entire mind is erased, we can truly see others as they are, not through the images we created in the film of our mind. Moreover, the true self would be found, by letting go of the self as a picture in the memory. At that time, the eternal sunshine would be illuminated through the pure mind. Maybe, the way to erase the memories depicted in the film is rather unrealistic and unilateral. But now, there is a way to empty out the mind for real, i.e. the way to throw away the “film” that is the burden and pain in one’s mind. Contrasting the film, it is true, pleasant and not heavy. Because there is a method, everyone could live with a pure mind, the mind that embraces the eternal sunshine.
