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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The 21st Century’s 100 greatest films (BBC)

7.6

103,506

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Original title: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Year: 2004
Running time: 108 min.
Country: United States
Director: Michel Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Music: Jon Brion
Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Cast: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Jay Ryan, Gerry Robert Byrne, Jane Adams, David Cross, Ryan Whitney
Producer: Focus Features
Genre: Drama. Romance. Comedy. Sci-Fi | Independent Film (US). Comedy-Drama. Cult Movie
Synopsis: Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover his love for Clementine. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood) chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just can't get Clementine out of his head.

Rankings Position

#20 Best Science Fiction Movies
#86 Best Movies of the 21st century
#93 Best Romantic Movies in the history of film
#112 Best Comedy Movies

Awards: 2004: Oscar: Best Original Screenplay. 2 Nominations

2004: Golden Globe: 4 Nominations, including Best Movie Comedy or Musical

2004: 2 BAFTA Awards: Best Editing and Original Screenplay. 6 Nominations

2004: Cesar: Nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture

2004: National Board of Review: Best Original Screenplay (Charlie Kaufman)

2004: New York Film Critics Circle: 3 Nominations including Best Film

Show 7 more awards

2004: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Nominated for Best Screenplay

2004: Toronto: Best Director (Michel Gondry), Original Screenplay

2004: American Film Institute (AFI): Top 10 - Movies of the Year

2004: Critics' Choice Awards: 3 Nominations, for Best Picture, Actress (Winslet) & Writer

2004: Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Nominated for Best Screenplay

2004: Writers Guild of America (WGA): Best Original Screenplay

2004: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated for Best Actress (Kate Winslet)

Critics' reviews

"The perfect movie about love's inevitable imperfections"

Ann Hornaday: The Washington Post
"If films about coping with memory loss and/or reverse-order storytelling now constitute a mini-genre, then pic is arguably the best of the lot"

Todd McCarthy: Variety
"This angular and intelligent romantic comedy isn't entirely consistent. Even as you laugh, it's a movie you admire more than love."

Elvis Mitchell: The New York Times
"'Eternal Sunshine' has an emotional center, and that's what makes it work (...) [Carrey] has an everyman appeal, and here he dials down his natural energy (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"Brilliantly constructed and engagingly executed, this has quite a few tricks up its sleeve"

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
May be the first movie I've seen that bends your brain and breaks your heart at the same time"

Owen Gleiberman: Entertainment Weekly
"The audience is left without a ballast to anchor it firmly in space and time, but Kaufman and Gondry conjure the life of the mind with such imagination and emotion that it's worth taking the leap with them"

Scott Tobias: AV Club
Show 5 more reviews

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Ranking Lists Position

3 My Top 10 Movies from 2004 (589)
3 Little Gems: Little Known Movies I've Discovered (179)
5 My Favorite Romantic Dramas (300)
6 Movies that Don't Seem that Special but are Very Special to Me (132)
7 Weird Films I Actually Love - Not Everybody's Thing (25)
9 Movies I Like But Wouldn't Recommend to Everyone (82)
10 Movies with Great Screenplays (133)
13 The Weirdest Movies I Have Ever Watched (187)
15 Movies I Liked More the Second Time I Watched Them (51)
17 Movies I Want to Own (153)
18 My Top 20 Movies from the 2000s (297)
19 My Favorite Cult Classics (231)
19 Underrated Movies (98)
21 Movies with Skillful Editing (41)
35 My Favorite Romantic Comedies (134)
41 Most Moving Movies (100)
46 My Favorite Movies (3768)
57 Movies with a Great Female Lead (55)
58 Movies I Want to Watch (old releases) (3336)
66 Absolute Musts (24)
68 Overrated Movies (115)
72 My Favorite Dramas (178)
83 Movies with the Best Endings (101)
84 My Favorite Fantasy Movies (43)
92 Movies I've Watched during Pandemic (32)

Show 25 lists

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