One of the ten greatest movies I have ever seen!

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2005)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the ESSM) is one of the ten greatest movies (and probably the most beautiful movie) I have ever seen. The other greatest are Almost Famous, American Beauty, Clockwork Orange, Magnolia, Mulholand Drive, Philadelphia, Pulp Fiction, Requem for a Dream and LOTR: The Return of the King. The ESSM has all three components that I believe great movies are supposed to have: great stories with great plot, great message and great acting.
It might be difficult for one to understand its "detailed" stories with its non-linear plot when one sees the movie first. All its non-linear stories are centered on a message that it is important for one to look around (and appreciate) what one has in one's lover (or friend) during one's limited time. It is very difficult to see without tears Joel say "I want to stay this time. I do." when Clementine asks "You should stay." in their Montauk meeting in his last piece of memory for her.
The ESSM put Jim's, Kate's and all the other actors' performances to their limits. I have enjoyed Jim's charismatic acting skills since I saw him in Mask first and I had to ask myself whether he was the same Jim who played Mask when I looked at his gigantic performance in the ESSM as a mentally challenged man of great imagination. Also, the ESSM blew away all my doubts from Titanic about Kate as an actress. Indeed, I just started to watch her other movies like Heavenly Creatures, realizing Titanic was her bad exception while the ESSM is her "greatest" norm. This is the movie that we aren't to see in many years to come. 10/10.