The Spirit of Philip K. Dick Lives On

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2004)

Charlie Kaufman appears to be the heir apparent to the legacy of Philip K. Dick, and nowhere is this more evident than with ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. It's not just that this is Jim Carrey's best film. It's not even that this is the best film of 2004 so far. This film is the best film of the 21st century so far.
Kaufman's explorations of the twists and turns both of reality and (by extension) the human mind has never been more brilliantly realized. But beyond that, this film captures more than any film I have ever seen the importance of personal human memory. How it can be manipulated. How it can define a person. But most importantly, how valuable it is to us all, good or bad.
What a wonderful fable this is for the present day. For those with open enough minds, it has an almost SIXTH SENSE pull to be re-watched, so one can fully understand how the excellent plot construction actually pulls you into it's world. After all, it makes you question during the film if you remembered previous scenes correctly, only to reveal the manipulation of memory at the end.
Wonderful!