I love my weird films and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind was one of those highly regarded ones that I never watched, until yesterday at least. I guess I never knew what it really was about, something about the long title or maybe the fact that it starred Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Yea probably the latter, I mean, 2 big name hollywood stars? The Mask and the chick who thought she was flying. How’s that gonna work out?

Brilliantly apparently. Carrey is superb as Joel, a really nice kinda guy who’s subdued and withdrawn but yearns for something explosive and interesting, fully realized in Kate Winslet’s Clementine, an impulsive free spirit. As strange as it was for me to think of these 2 completely disparate characters and actors playing opposite each other, it somehow managed to work, or maybe Michel Gondry somehow convinced me it worked.

The wonderful part of the film is how it’s a beautiful exploration of love and romance, this idea of a true love and how memory, time and space cannot seem to hold it back. Joel meets Clementine and they fall in love only until they start quarrelling and in her typical impulse, Clementine hires a company to erase her memories of Joel. In revenge, Joel then seeks out the same firm to have the same procedure only to decide to pull out whilst he’s in the midst of the erasing.

The script is absolutely superb and wonderful in the most intricate, meaningful little details. This is the kind of film I’d love to have watched with a girlfriend rather than… sobs… alone… *starts to bawl like a baby* *bawl* *bawl*

*Sniff* There’s so much in this film really. The philosophical bits, the sci-fi bits, the pure romance played out in such an unconventional fashion. The sideshow beyond Carrey and Winslet… I really felt like I could so relate to Stan. *starts bawling again*

When the film started, I was wondering exactly what I did before. Why the hell would Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet ever fall in love and in what universe? Finishing the film allowed me to realize that there are actually things besides my own world and that the sun does not revolve around me. I probably ought to stop turning my pointy little nose up at anything I deem unworthy due to my pathetic assumption. You arrive at the beginning about halfway through, which rounds up the beauty of playing stuff in reverse and allowing things to unfold in the most beautiful way possible. This is kinda like Memento but a love story and not a murder mystery and in my opinion uses the idea of memory far further.

No offense to Carrey and Winslet of course, they have done great films before, be they entirely commercial or otherwise but in my opinion, this has to be my own fondest memory of each of them ever. And yes, that means this was better than The Mask X Titanic.

Love on thin ice.

Much of the film takes place whilst Joel’s memories of Clementine are collapsing around him. I remember a particularly lovely shot in the library where the colors of the books turn white bit by bit as the memory fades, playing alongside the conversation the 2 characters are having. Just look how many metaphors are all over the image above. The film is littered with sublime, off-kilter yet beautiful shots imbued with so much emotion and depth. Another one of my favorites has to be the one where the two of them are at the beach when it’s snowing, which you have to see to appreciate I suppose.

Love works in mysterious ways maybe. Differences are perhaps what we look for rather than similarities. Or maybe its not so much differences or similarities but a shoe that fits perfectly in your own mind, discomfort, tears and stains inclusive.

I’m not quite sure what to make of Band a Parte, the Jean Luc Godard movie I selected as my first foray into French Nouvelle Vogue. Or should I say Nouvelle Vague considering I feel quite outside of completely grasping the film. I actually based my decision on the fact that a movie that inspired a clothing label has to be cool one way or other.

Godard steals the plot from an American pulp fiction novel about a love triangle and the heist which allows us to see the emotional theatrics within said triangle. Its shot on the cheap and constantly makes random references to America, literature and film-making itself.

Its so whimsical, it can only be made by a Frenchman. At one point, the innocent Odile, played by Godard’s muse at the time, Anna Karina, turns to the camera and asks “Plans? For What?”. Yet, still quite a few critics seem to wonder exactly why the plot doesn’t amaze them, as if Godard weren’t being obvious enough. Another scene has the two male leads reading out vicious murder stories from the newspapers, foreboding what was to come perhaps.

I’ll admit to mainly being confounded by why a girl as beautiful as Odile would fall for the balding Arthur rather than the dashing Franz. Or maybe that’s just the cue for me to read more. Since Arthur is really supposed to be Arthur Rimbaud and Franz is Franz Kafka. Still, Arthur manages to get Odile to fall for him within seconds of planting his eyes on her. Maybe my lack of this magic stare frustrates me so and manifests itself as my distaste for this part of the plot.

The film plays out quite rather quickly, using sound to tremendous effect and you definitely feel an immediacy for the 3 main characters. Their all too human failings render them stupidly likeable. In fact, its basically what drives the entire film, that tension, swing and sway between the 3 of them. All played out in the most famous scene in the film, the dance sequence, which inspired Tarantino’s own one in Pulp Fiction.

I guess I find the film rather quaint and interesting after all. If anything, my curiosity about Godard, Truffaut et al is only growing by the minute. Bande a Parte is the only Godard film on Time’s ALL TIME top 100 movies list, which one review points out as a reason why it is also his most accessible film, otherwise, most other people simply point out that the film is underrated and less acclaimed in comparison to his other masterpieces. I’m hoping his other work is really interesting though. I read stuff like “technical” and “amazing” so the anticipation is high.

Question: What is Cat Power’s film debut?

Answer: My Blueberry Nights, where she appears in a bit part as Katya, a Russian chick with a penchant for using keys in her philosophical musings.

Blueberry Nights is of course, Wong Kar Wai’s English language directorial debut. It’s sort of like Chungking Express goes on a road trip to the US really. Norah Jones makes her acting debut as well, playing one of the lead roles as Elizabeth. She’s the one that takes the road trip and in fact, her character is sort of similar to Faye Wong’s in CE just less quirky, more demure. If you compared their music, you’d get it. Their characters are just like the music they play. Jude Law stars opposite Jones as the reincarnation of Tony Leung, replete with cigarette scenes and a fucking cafe. Rachel Weisz appears as the new Lin Ching Hsia. David Strathairn plays the cop character who loves her. And Natalie Portman shines as a sassy gambler who suffers from a distance with her father. Pretty big names huh.

Their lines are awful though and its all badly written, something certain critics point out all too obviously. C’mon, this is WKW we’re talking about. What script? What plot? Its a WKW movie fer godssakes. It does start out particularly horribly though. Jones’ tries her best to emote her way as a lovefool whilst Law’s cafe owner appears to be a really bad self help book author instead. Thankfully, it picks up soon enough when Elizabeth leaves New York for Memphis then Vegas, along the way, picking up on more stories about love and loss.

Every single shot shows off Wong’s polish in his ability to bend time on film. His classic slow-ish motion sequences seem to suspend characters going through that barrage of emotional distance. Clocks are everywhere. Trains flash past. You almost sort of think HK suddenly got uprooted and dropped in the US and all the neon signs had the languages babelfished. Its pretty, as expected.

However, it seems to lack a certain newness to it. I mean, his movies are always about the same shit, whether its Ashes of Time or 2046. Its the same type of characters replanted into different places and times. Still, Blueberry seems too similar, too been there, too familiar. You know what’s going to happen. You already see the all visual tricks he uses to relate to his characters and the urban environment they live in but it just lacks a certain flow I feel.

In CE, the music was engaging and in complete concordance with the film. In Blueberry, its like vintage Americana through Wong’s eyes. Ry Cooder scores it quite beautifully and generally, I feel the music works well. A coupla tracks are stolen off In The Mood For Love though, which throws me off a bit. That film was the perfect slow burner. All the music was slow, grand and beautiful. The slow music in Blueberry just didn’t seem to have quite the same effect but the bluesy, jazzy vibe was still quite lovely.

I have to say, I had to watch Blueberry in spits and spurts though. Largely due to the fact that I had a lack of sleep and was quite tired but also, it was sometimes, a little too much longing. Still, I was quite charmed by the time I made it to Portman’s part, the 3rd short story within the story.

My favorite bit in the film is probably the final scene, shown above, when Jude Law kisses Norah Jones in a very tender moment. Going through the whole film, with its slow tortuousness was reminiscent of my recent Cat Power concert, although not half that bad. You really get to appreciate the little things when you see the bigger picture.