Even if you knew a relationship was almost sure to end with both sides gnashing their teeth in sorrow and anguish, would it be worth the happy times before? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would have you say yes. I would just like you to explore the option, but you must see the movie first.

In the credits above, I rarely ever mention the writers of films. But in the case of Charlie Kaufman, he has to be on there, because only if you recognize his name will you have any idea of what to expect going in the theater. If you haven't seen Being John Malkovich, Adaptation or Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which isn't as strange as the other two, but just as stylized, then you better not look for a basic Jim Carrey vehicle, or even a traditional romantic comedy. This is serious, mind-blowing stuff.

The title of the film is taken from the poem "Eloisa to Abelard" (scroll way down) by 18th century writer Pope Alexander, oops, I mean Alexander Pope:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. There the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away. I need my pain!

	When "Beach Blanket Bingo" goes horribly wrong.

Much of the story takes place in Carrey's mind, full of flashbacks where at first we find Kate distasteful, then realize what Carrey was loving all along. It's a transformation for the audience as we figure out where Charlie Kaufman is going with the story, and unlike his previous efforts where I was too worn out to care about the ending, in Eternal Sunshine I was wholly into the final half-hour.

All the while Carrey is under the colander-looking mind-erase computer, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood are involved in their own real lives. Between raiding Carrey's fridge and smoking dope, they aren't exactly the epitome of professionalism. Even still, Dunst gets a chance to control a bit of the film's destiny, and I never doubted for a minute that she could do it.

Director Michel Gondry hasn't done any feature films of note before, coming over from the music video world. I have no idea how all that prepped him for helming Eternal Sunshine, but the way he conceives Kaufman's world is astonishing. The imagination of the story is like a lightning bolt, so jarring yet freeing one from the bounds of movie ordinariness.

While the visualizations of the story are amazing, the movie doesn't focus on them as if it's ramming the artsy quality into your skull. Gondry accepts that the audience gets what he's doing, and the technique is complimentary to the story instead of the other way around.

The theme of the movie is just a more embellished version of a country song, of lost love and hurtful breakups, of trying to figure out how to move on and put the relationship in the past. You may say you want to throw everything in the trash that reminds you of your former love, it doesn't make the boo-hoos go away.

Now, let me add that while I found it romantic and tragic, yet hopeful and uplifting, I have never been in love and thus never been truly heartbroken. But I get it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a phenomenal piece of work. Once you see it, you won't forget it, no matter how hard you try.