Movie Reviews: Director Archives
Michel Gondry
The Work Of Director Michel Gondry
The timing couldn’t have been better. Now that Michel Gondry has thoroughly floored audiences and critics alike with the surreal work of brilliance that is Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, it’s a perfect time for Directors Label to really push this disc. People are obviously leaving the movie dazzled, and chances are more than a few of them are going to want to know where this Gondry cat came from, and what else he has done.
I first perused this DVD a few months ago, so I sort of knew what to expect going into Eternal Sunshine… (though to say Gondry exceeded my expectations is a gross understatement). After being dazzled by the movie for a second time, I came home and popped in this DVD as a sort of refresher. And I found it, in some ways, even more enjoyable the second time around. The Work Of Director Michel Gondry, which pulls together a number of the man’s music videos, short films, and other assorted works, not only provides an incredibly indepth overview of the man’s portfolio, but also some great insight into his creative process and just what it is that fuels that process.
Even scanning just a small portion of this DVD’s content reveals a couple of things about Gondry’s work. First of all, he loves toying with reality. And not just the reality contained within the context of his videos, like the kaleidoscopic waking dream in The Chemical Brothers’ “Let Forever Be”, but also the viewer’s concept of reality. There were several moments, such as Cibo Matto’s palindromic “Sugar Water” or Kylie Minogue’s “Come Into My World”, when I found myself scratching my head and rewinding, wondering if I’d really seen what I just saw. Trying to wrap my head around what Gondry seems to pull off with such ease can often be quite a brainmelter.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
What was the last movie I saw that left me completely and absolutely enamored with it as I walked out of the theatre? Maybe Bubba Ho-Tep, but as much as I loved that movie, my feelings, nay, my love for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is something else altogether. Very nearly everything in this movie floored me - from the brilliant acting to the clever yet poignant script, and of course, the amazing direction and visuals, which are as dreamlike and imaginative as anything likely to grace theatres this year. 2004 promises us some great movies, but by year’s end, I doubt we’ll have experienced anything quite like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.
As much as I’d love to sit down and reveal the story for you, with all of its wonderful twists and intricacies, it really is best enjoyed if you go in knowing as little as possible. But this much I can tell you, and not spoil too much of the discovery. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is a complete loser, a schmuck in a dead-end job living a life quickly going nowhere. The only bright spot in his life is Clementine Kruczynski, a free-spirited but emotionally unstable young woman. But for all of the spontaneity and romance she brings into his life, their relationship is growing increasingly damaged and marred.
Joel’s world comes crashing down when he learns that Clementine has gone to Lacuna, a company that specializes in the removal of painful memories, and has had all trace of him wiped from her mind. Betrayed and spiteful, he demands they do the same for him, figuring he’s better off without her - in every way, shape, and form. He collects everything that reminds him of Clementine, all of the mementos acquired during their time together, so that Lacuna can “map” his memories of her and undo the damage. And then the procedure begins, with Joel wandering through his head and seeing the relationship get stripped away piece by piece.
At first, he relives all of the bad times - the arguments, the boredom, the betrayals, and the final moment of anger that spelled their end. But as the process continues and he goes further back, he begins stumbling across happy memories - the first time they met, the silly dates they went on, and the times when he was perfectly content in her presence.
Unfortunately, Lacuna’s procedure doesn’t discriminate between the good and bad experiences, and wipes them all. As he sees each one of the happy moments fade away - an experience convincingly conveyed by Michel Gondry’s amazing visuals - Joel begins to realize the horrible mistakes he made and rediscovers his love. However, there’s no way he can tell Lacuna to stop, and so he does the next best thing. He grabs Clementine and flees to other memories, memories from his childhood where Lacuna hopefully can’t find them, where they can try to figure out some way to stop the procedure before she’s gone forever.