Eternal Sunshine

Eternal Sunshine Of the spotless mind Directed by Michel Gondry

Hair color • First: Green (newness/ start of the relationship) • Second: Red (in love, romance, Valente) • Third: Orange (conflicted (red + yellow) • Fourth: Blue (‘feeling blue’/depression, unhappy)

Theme • Love will be given a chance through fate but will only lead to a happy relationship with trust and willing acceptance of each other’s faults

Narration • The narrator is Joel Barish. • Story is told to us in the first person narrative. • The narrator is not reliable because its just his own perspective, limiting other’s thoughts.

Narration(cont.) • Camera- handheld camera style. • The camera gives limited vision of the story. • Ex. The scene starts with a close-up of Joel’s face as he awakens in bed, but as the scene inside his bedroom progresses, the shots become wider. This is symbolic of Joel’s relationship with his girlfriend, Clementine.

Plot/Story(Diegesis) • Diegetic elements- The beep from the computer when Stan is erasing his memory. (Characters know) Ex) fax machines, phone lines, the banging of a hammer, most other elements in the film that form their world.

Plot/Story(Diegesis) • Most of the sound effects of the movie are non-diegetic. (Characters are unaware of it) • Ex) When young Joel was hammering the dead bird, Patrick we often hear cheesy synthesizer sounds panned artificially hard, so that string sounds are on one side, woodwind sounds on the other.

Plot/Story • The movie is told in reverse order. • During the last conversation of Joel’s memory, Clem told Joel to come back in the house to make new a memory. She told him to meet her in Montauk (where they met every time).

Depth and Range • Depth- (Mary) we do not know anything about her until Howard’s wife comes and tell her who she is • Clementine- we know that her hair changes according to her emotions

Cont. • Howard- We didn’t know Howard cheated with his wife until we figured the relationship with Mary • Joel- know everything about what he does and we know when Joel’s memory is being erased.

Range • Range- (Patrick) Patrick imitates Joel to gain love from Clementine • Stan- He loves Mary

Good Story • It has a unified plot that every sub plot comes together to create one big idea. • Is the story credible? • It is credible from Joel’s memory

Good Story • Externally observable truth- Hair color of Clementine externally shows us their whole relationship with Joel. • The internal truth of human nature- They want to erase bad parts of their lives, but no matter how much they try to forget they will always remember (Theme).

Good Story • Interesting-Suspenseful/Action- There are not much suspense and action to the movie. • Love relationship chart (next)

Good Story • Handle emotional material with restraint- Clementine is over-emotional and Joel is not

Terms/Elements/Concepts • Antagonists- Patrick, Howard, and Stan • Fake Climax- At the beginning and at the end when Joel and Clementine were at the train • Real Climax- The REAL climax is the last two sentences of the movie

Terms/Elements/Concepts • Denouement- Joel and Clem at the end of the movie finally agree to accept each other as a resolution. • Familiar image- Beach at Montaukto help establish the narrative.

Terms/Elements/Concepts • Flat Character- Patrick, as he is easily predictable, and only wants to be with Clem. • Omniscient- In the aspect we know what is going on outside of Joel’s mind.

Terms/Elements/Concepts • Protagonist-Joel • Round character-Clementine, she is very spontaneous and is difficult to predict her actions. • Antirealism-The whole Lacuna erasing procedure is not realistic.

Things you might have missed… • They have their memory erased twice, before accepting each other and realizing they will face conflict. • Blue Ruins alcohol drink is a color she said that she invented on the train.

Cont. Clementine in Joel’s mind is his consciousness. He has Clem guide him around his mind to places he could not think of. Signifies that he needs Clementine to make him complete.

Cont. • As “Frodo” lies on the ice with Clem, he repeats a quote Joel told her, and she panics. • Clem quotes, “Its not gonna crack or break, or – its so thick.” Symbolizes their relationship that will never break no matter what.

Cont. • Few repeating key words or symbols: nice, alcohol, “Oh my Darling Clementine.” • Alcoholism may be a side effect of the “procedure” since we see Clem and Mary very into it.

Cont. • Howard’s wife quotes, “Thanks a lot Stan,” as she sees Howard and Mary. May be that the wife told Stan to get together with Mary to prevent Howard and Mary to fall in love again.

Cont. • The name of the memory erasing company is “Lacuna” which means gap or missing point. • Quotes quoted by characters in the movie are used for romance. Ex. Patrick quoting Joel to get to Clementine.

Cont. • “Row, row, row your boat” used to bring Joel back to his childhood is a pathos appeal to audience, bringing an emotional connection to the audience’s childhood.

Cont. • The simple closing words of “Okay” from Joel and Clem show that they finally will accept each other’s faults and that they need to compromise and accept the pain each will bestow on each other.

Cont. • Frank the neighbor gained a letter from LACUNA INC. • Memory erasing occurs every Valentines Day

Fin

Eternal Sunshine