Eternal Sunshine

I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the fourth time yesterday, and I realised that I like it even more every time I see it, and that it can actually be considered my favorite movie at the moment. It has everything: A script that's both mind-bendingly smart, showing how good non-linear storytelling can be, and poignant, and two marvelous performances. And of course, Michel Gondry made sure it was visually fascinating as well.

That, of course, and it's one of the most romantic movies I know. Romantic, and never sappy. What I realised while watching it yesterday is that, unlike most romantic movies, this one doesn't close with a kiss. The movie really isn't about kissing. You don't see their first first kiss or their second first kiss, and yet you can see that these two characters are together more clearly than in any other film. Hollywood has glamorized the kiss, made it all important, but how much more romantic than a kiss that resolves nothing is the moment when Joel says, "ok" at the end of the film?

Kaufman is a genius. And lucky for us, a hopeless romantic too.