The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind follows the very abormal couple of Joel, a shy unimpulsive man and, Clementine an outgoing other worldly person, who’s destinies intertwine no matter what path they venture on. Their relationships takes ups and downs, but something else comes into play; a serious turn of unfortunate events happens. A company known for erasing people’s memories causes their relationship to have even more complications and tests Joel and Clementine’s destiny to be together. Their journey of love proves to us that memories feed the fire and passion of love, but also can extinguish the flames.
When we see Joel and Clementine’s first encounter on the train, we get the slightest hint something is up between them. Even before they engage in conversation, on the beach there seems to be a path Joel was sent on and we can also see it in Clementine. While they are on the train their conversation is not only awkward but carefully thought out. Joel wants to be nice and tries to not say the wrong thing, while on the other hand, Clementine needs to clarify the way she acts, reassuring Joel that she is not crazy. It feels as if they are both trying to win approval. Perhaps subconsciously they know each other’s feelings already. As the next two scenes show their emotions easily come back to them, readmitting their relationship from the start of the movie.
The film has an interesting way of showing Joel’s procedure, when I say interesting I mean the order the memories are shown, is brilliant! At first Joel was complacent with the procedure, letting Clementine evaporate from his mind. From the last time Joel saw Clementine to eating at “Kangs again”. Joel is more focused on the noises happening outside of himself, on who’s talking and how the operation is going. One can say these memories are so easily let go and forgotten until other memor...
