After my father passed, I moved to New York to shoot Eternal Sunshine. My girlfriend, BK, came with me. While I was finding various ways to see Joel Barish’s memories of Clementine evaporate, fade, and decay, I was building my own with BK. Once we were shooting Jim Carrey on stage rummaging through his apartment to collect all of Clementine’s mementos. I don’t know why, but I was not convinced by the realism of this scene. For some reason, it felt a bit like a ‘film moment’. Everything was great, until this evening: BK had had enough and wanted to be back in LA. I packed all BK’s clothes and mementos. The next time I watched the film, this scene where Jim is packing up Clementine’s stuff was not a ‘film moment’ anymore. Now, I cannot watch Eternal Sunshine. I erased BK’s number from my cell phone and in the past years I’ve done the same for the number of two other women whose stories ended bitterly. Those three numbers are the only ones I know by heart – because I erased them. I’ve read some news in scientific magazines that targeted memories can be wiped out… on mice. I wonder if mice experience painful break-ups? So far, technology has only succeeded in making us forget everything… except the things we don’t want to remember. (Michel Gondry)
DIRECTOR: Michel Gondry
NATION: USA
YEAR: 2004
RUNTIME: 108′
Original version with subtitles