On Valentine's Day in 2004, a man named Joel suddenly realized how sad he was on the commute, so he wanted to go to Montauk. New York in February was extremely cold and snowy, but Joel still insisted on walking on the beach, writing a diary after a long absence, and meditating quietly.
"Sand is overestimated,"
he thought, randomly picking up some sand from the wet surroundings,
"they are just small stones."
On this beach, Joel caught a glimpse of someone dressed Blue-haired girl in orange cap T. Then I saw her in a nearby restaurant and noticed that she had added some wine to her coffee. On the way home, Joel saw this girl on the train platform again, and she also attracted his attention mischievously. The last two happened to take the same bus again. The girl took the initiative to talk to Joel and told him that she was Clementine, thinking that he would know how to joke her name like everyone else, but Joel didn't know.
"Why do I always fall in love with all the girls who notice me?"
Joel thought.
"I will marry you,"
Clementine said loudly,
"I understand this very well."
They were not married, but they did start dating. Joel and Clementine are respectively the roles played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directed by Michele Gunterley in 2004. At first glance, a general linear narrative reveals the encounter between the two people, the unfolding of the relationship, and some of the story ups and downs you can expect. However, the audience in this movie does not actually experience the relationship between the two people in a normal sequence. There are indeed many ups and downs in the sci-fi love song "Ace Enemy" between Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.
"Ace Enemy" does have many ups and downs, but these are not only from the sincere sharing and love-breaking plot, but the bigger turning point comes from the most famous film The narrative trick of ──The story unfolds in retrospect, and the audience starts to realize it after the memories of the lovers are erased bit by bit. This is a shrewdly designed science fiction turning point, although the first part of the story does not make people think it is a science fiction movie.
A "Lacuna Inc." clinic, composed of characters played by Elijah Wood, Mark Luffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Wigginson, claims to be able to provide services to eliminate memories. As long as you provide anything related to the person you want to forget, whether it is a photo, gift or other object that can recall this painful relationship, the clinic can create a network related to that person from the minds of the participants, and These memories are deleted one by one. The relatives and friends of the participants will also be instructed not to mention the person he is trying to forget in front of the person.
The film is written by Charlie Kaufman, which reminds many viewers of the masterpiece "I Love You, I Love You" (Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime) directed by Alain Resnais) in 1968. 'aime). The film tells of a man who tried to commit suicide after losing his beloved love. He lost his motivation to survive and participated in a dangerous scientific experiment. This allowed him to travel through time and space and return to the past one year ago, but only for one minute.
was only an accident in this experiment. He stayed for more than a minute when he returned to the past, but he experienced this doomed love affair again. However, the entire sequence was completely disrupted, leaving him unable to know what would happen in the next moment.
"I Love You, I Love You"
Compared with Aaron Renai's gloomy and somewhat nihilistic classics, "Ace Enemy" presents a more witty and humorous plot. Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, was obviously a quirky, dream-loving actress that was common in Hollywood romantic movies of that era, but she and Joel were both older than the roles in such movies. Her wild and impulsive personality also has pros and cons. After all, such a personality is elusive, and in the end she also decided to erase the memories related to Joel after the breakup.
On the other hand, Joel’s own depression also pushed Clementine to the other extreme. He is a man who doesn't like talking, and thinks he has nothing to say. His imagination was also exhausted by various daily chores, which made him fall into inexplicable sadness. The character's insatiable personality cannot be cured. In other words, he is such a difficult person to get along with.
And the most fascinating thing about "Ace Enemy" is that the heroic and weird girl and the independent and rigid protagonist do not seem to be suitable for each other. Although the two characters seem incompatible, they are still willing to give this relationship a try.
is a thunderbolt of force, for your love, can you fight it?
Compared with the protagonist of Aaron Resnai's "I Love You, I Love You", Joel is more in control of the illusion of facing the past. The line between the past and the present is not clear to Joel. Sometimes he can hear the voices of people from the Emotion Clinic in the apartment, he can interact with Clementine, and he can also detect the moment when his memories are erased. Even today, 15 years later, these moments still seem to make it difficult to replace "Ace Enemy". The clip reminisced by Joel
looks like a maze of ordinary events lit by a spotlight. With the elimination process, strange developments will also appear in this place, such as faces, gestures, and other details begin to disappear; cars fall from the sky; memories of individual events begin to permeate each other. When these phenomena occur, Joel and Clementine will run hard, and the audience knows that Joel still wants to keep the memories of the two, and would rather remember the pain than Clementine completely.
Despite its heavy weight, there are still a lot of interesting moments in "Ace Enemy". For example, Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst only wear underwear and smoke marijuana, and they jump on Joel’s sofa to provide relaxation and fun for this film. Moment; and in Montauk’s memory scene, when the house gradually collapsed, Joel and Clementine were still in it. This segment is tangled, but at the same time very charming, a kind of mind is gradually revealed Feeling open and cheerful.
It is undeniable that "Ace of Love" is a fantasy movie, but the destruction that this movie tells about the feeling of loss of love can not be overstated. Of course, the sincere blessings for the new love of the brokenhearted are also true.
