Arts Explorer #5 Watch an 'art film' and chat about it

Michel Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind'

Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girl friend.  Clementine (Kate Winslat) has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind.  Out desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process,  Dr. Howard Mizrzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) to get the same treatment.  But as the memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her.  

The Wall Street Journal calls "a romantic comedy unlike any other!"

Me:  this movie is similar as the other one "Inception".  I should say "Inception" is similar to it.  Because both of them talk about the brain system. 

Patsy: Yeah, but I find this is much simpler in the way that it simple delves in memories rather than formulating a dream. In Inception, they make it so complicated that it ends up being so hard to follow. In this one, we just look at his memories. It’s all on two levels – real life, and Joel’s mind.

Me: you know, this movie is difficult to be understand.  I do not know the main theme until end of the movie, both of them say they are not perfect but they do not mind and want to get together again. 

Patsy: I guess it’s just a life thing. I find the ending rather pathetic, but maybe that’s just the fact that I’m a romance girl and I’m used to more sappy endings. This one’s more like “ah well, that’s that”. The movie was really confusing in the way that he kept flashing through his memories. There didn't even seem to be a time line.

Me: I know! I was so confused half the time…

Patsy: Kate Winslet is a really good actress. She handles the American accent perfectly.

Me: Yeah, I saw her in “Titanic” too. Actually, that’s the first time I saw her. She plays the two different characters well.

Patsy: Still, she looks funny with blue hair.

Me:  I don't thing this movie is romantic comedy.  I think the producer used the imagination with the knowledge of the brain development to development the theme.

Patsy: Definitely not romantic comedy. About the brain development knowledge, I don’t really remember if they ever explained how they actually deleted certain sequences of your memory.

Me: Finally, they have happy ending – as the bible commends, nobody is perfect so we have to forgive each other and love each other.

Patsy: Staple of life!

Me:  you know, at the beginning of the movie, the main character, Joel, said he wondered why he fell in love with every woman had seen.  At that time, I judged him based on if he was smart or handsome or not.

Patsy: There’s gotta be a reason why he would be so attracted to women –they had to be attracted to him too, right? Actually, the people in this movie are very on the normal-looking side. I mean, the main characters are both good looking, but the director seemed to want to downplay this so they would seem like more normal people.

Me: Joel said he talked to the stranger because he was nice.  I do not agree with him.  I guessed he wanted to talk to her as well.  He just made up an excuse.

Patsy: Of course! Like he said, he had lots of humiliation. Everyone has something they have to hide


Me: In ECE, dramatic play can stimulate the children's language development and emotional control.  According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009) stated, "In children's play should be nondirective.......their own playfulness without overwhelming children or performing for them"(p.40).

Reference

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009).  Art and creative development for young children (6the Ed.).  Belmont, CA: Delmar.