- This is it Joel, it's going to be gone soon.
- I know
- What do we do?
- Enjoy it

My Dad's been bugging me about it for a few months, so I finally saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tonight. It was still playing in a couple of theaters, but I figured tonight was my last chance before the Memorial Day movies open tomorrow and push it out of the theaters for good. I was confident I would like it, and Dad's recommendation added to that. I wasn't disappointed.

I have to agree with Orson Scott Card that this movie is Science Fiction. I think Sci-Fi is really misunderstood by a lot of people. They think it's just a fun ride, like an action movie set in the future. Sure, a lot of Sci-Fi is like that, but really good Sci-Fi is more. It's a genre that allows the author to break the rules. You can make up outlandish premises and are not bound to our current world or our current technology. This allows us to ask questions about the human condition in a way that isn't really possible if we stay within traditional bounds.

This movie did that excellently. I know there was a big love story in here, and there's a lot about if people are right for eachother and fate and second chances. But for me the big thing I'm thinking about is what makes us who we are? My answer is we're a composite of our experiences. So the idea of haphazardly erasing those experiences is destructive to who we are, it would change us. That's what I've been thinking about for the last few hours.

It helps that it was written, directed, and acted extraordinarily well. This story as told is incredibly complicated (but could be simply summed up in a 5 minute version,) Yet through this complexity we're not confused. We know what's going on, we watch confusing and complex ideas presented to us in a way that's easy to understand. It takes real talent to make that happen.

This just continues to solidify my respect for Charlie Kaufman.

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