Sabina Holtby - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a thought provoking movie. I was surprised to hear so many people talking about how much they loved the film and how it was one of their favorites. I found the movie fascinating; the concepts covered in the film were very real and relevant.
I found the mixing of myth and reality very interesting, they were so intertwined that it was quite a job to figure them out. I liked very much the strong colors and fast moving shots, it was a great tactic to allow the viewer to leave their world and be caught up in this one. Another factor that contributed to the ‘other world’ feel of the movie was the complex story line, if the viewer missed one line it was potentially fatal to the understanding of the story, so the viewer listened very closely.
The corruption of time was an interesting theme, the viewer came to understand that time is not linear, and that all time affects all other time. Take the scene when Joel returns to childhood and is hiding under the table, he brings Clementine to this place thinking that if she is there she will be safe from the future of being erased. He thinks that all that he has ever been is what makes up his present, so as long as something or someone fits into his life at some point it cannot be removed from his present.
The surreal-ness of the film made it seem fable like, the director and actors were trying to teach the viewers a lesson, embrace your past because you cannot escape it. Overall I feel that the film was beautiful and very interesting but too emotionally racking for repeated viewing.