Michel Gondry
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Connections, in both directions
The two friends' initial foray is to re-create "Ghostbusters," and there isn't a laugh in the whole sequence.
Since there’s no way to quickly locate a VHS replacement copy of Ghostbusters for Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), a customer who threatens to tell Fletcher that Mike and Jerry are ruining the store, the duo set out to recreate the film on their own with a camcorder and a lot of low-tech ingenuity.
When loyal customer Ms. Kimberly, tasked by Mr. Fletcher to check in on the store while he's away, comes in to rent Ghostbusters, Jerry and Mike's solution to the crisis is hardly logical, but certainly inspired: Produce and shoot a replacement version of the film within 24 hours so she'll be none the wiser about the store's ruined inventory.
Desperately seeking to assuage lovely but demanding customers like Farrow's Miss Falewicz, Jerry and Mike go about creating homemade remakes of the likes of Ghostbusters, Men in Black, and many more.
This is okay by the locals, including dotty Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who is only just now getting around to seeing Ghostbusters.
Wander Darkly (2020)
Directed by Tara Miele
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006)
Themes
In these reminisces, “Wander Darkly” sometimes inhabits a YA melodramatic vibe—each emotional swing swells to a critical mass—mixed with an “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” dynamic.
Providing a sort of out of body experience for its lead characters akin to films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind may have some pining for a sense of levity or oddness courtesy of a director like Michel Gondry, but I admire the way Miele takes serious subject matter and doesn’t let viewers off easy.
The better of the two is Tara Miele’s ambitious “Wander Darkly,” a film that echoes one of my favorite movies of the modern era, Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
As in so many of the death-after-life or memory-centric films it lightly references — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , It's a Wonderful Life , Heaven Can Wait , to name but a few — there's arguably too much emphasis on neat patterns, seemingly throwaway details that turn out to have major payoffs later on.
The obvious mile marker here would be the relationship deconstruction of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but it's more a post-mumblecore What Dreams May Come, a mix of agnostic afterlife fantasy and hand-held camerawork.
The film was undoubtedly influenced by the superior Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.
Inception (2010)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006)
Plot Themes
Moviegoers have experienced this kind of dream invasion concept before: Dreamscape , Total Recall , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , and pretty much the entire Nightmare on Elm Street series to name a few.
It immediately reminded me of Marc Forster’s Stay (2005), Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York (2008).
The Matrix first introduced the concept to mainstream cinema audiences and this concept has since appeared in films as diverse as eXistenZ and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .
Similarly themed films have been produced over the years -- such as the 1984 Dennis Quaid thriller "Dreamscape," the 1999 blockbuster "The Matrix" and Jim Carrey's 2004 indie hit "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" -- though none with as quality a cast or as much dramatic oomph as "Inception."The…
The movies have a proud line of dream explorations and unreal worlds, from Spellbound to Dreamscape, Dark City and The Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to almost anything by Luis Buñuel, David Lynch and Satoshi Kon.
That experience in itself may sound a bit familiar, and "Inception" does feature glimmers of mind-trip movies like "The Matrix," ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and even a "Wizard of Oz" moment.
Swan Song (2021)
Directed by Benjamin Cleary
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Themes Plot
Like a more realistic, grounded take on “The 6th Day” or “Criminal” (and, to a lesser extent, “Total Recall,” “Gemini Man,” and even “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), “Swan Song” focuses more on the drama and cognitive concerns of cloning and brain-duplication (conscious and subconscious mirroring) than action, adventure, and the out-of-this-world nature of the science-fiction components.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Swan Song has the understated, contemplative sci-fi of stuff like Her , Ex Machina , Morgan and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .
If Cleary’s prologue evokes memories of the meet-cute from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” in the process, that also proves to accurately foreshadow a movie that uses a fanciful procedure as scaffolding for a story about someone trying to pave over their deepest pain.
Ruby Sparks (2012)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Themes Plot
Kazan said in a Q&A after the screening that the idea came from the “Pygmalion” myth, although there are also echoes of the second half of Vertigo, in which Jimmy Stewart slowly turns into a controlling sociopath, as well as one scene very reminiscent of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” a movie that came before the Rabin essay but included Kate Winslet’s “Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive” speech.
In the vein of such endearing but emotionally bruising works as Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and [500] Days Of Summer, Ruby Sparks is this year’s indie classic.
It’s easy enough to compare this love story, with its mind-twisting interplay of reality and dreams, to Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
The answers give "Ruby Sparks" a melancholy tone, something like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," or "(500) Days of Summer."
What the movie ignores on its way to a finale that's part "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and part "(500) Days of Summer" are Calvin's insecurities and possessiveness.
While it isn't nearly as good, " Ruby Sparks " does slightly resemble " Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind " at times.
The Discovery (2017)
Directed by Charlie McDowell
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Plot Themes
The Discovery is a poor, albeit ambitious, imitation of the superior Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .
By the time the film ends, it arrives at what feels like a slower, more self-important afterlife of “Black Mirror,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and McDowell’s better, similarly high-concept “The One I Love.”
The Discovery reminds you of various recent/not-so-recent grounded-yet-intellectual high-concept thinkers like Another Earth , Vanilla Sky, The Lobster and, most especially, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , which is unquestionably a major influence here.
I’ll not say what happens from there, other than it sets in motion a fascinating albeit sometimes convoluted journey that reminded me a little of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and a little of “Vanilla Sky” — though in many instances, it felt like its own original and new and fresh creation.
They’re the only two passengers on a ferry surrounded by frigid water, and their meet-cute hums with the same off-kilter electricity that galvanized the lovers from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
Part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, part Flatliners , The Discovery uses a dark sci-fi premise to explore those big existential questions.
Little Fish (2021)
Directed by Chad Hartigan
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Themes
Directed by Chad Hartigan ( Morris From America ), the film’s love story, between Cooke and Jack O’Connell, is likely to remind many of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .
Though reminiscent of everything from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Perfect Sense to last year’s Apples , their collaboration doesn’t feel as derivative as it might sound — Emma and Jude’s love may not conquer all, but unlike in Malcolm & Marie we desperately want it to.
That doesn’t deter from its power, and in one particular obvious way (memory), it reminds me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but also because love is love; short or long, and the memories, the briefest of details, can mean the world.
While comparisons to Contagion , Memento , or Amour may come to mind, Little Fish ‘s strongest parallel is perhaps Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in that both melancholic films explore the ups and downs of a particular romance through the lens of loss.
It’s also a cliche to compare a science-fiction romance movie to the incomparable “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” but Hartigan, making his first genuine foray into sc-fi here, must be a fan.
It calls to mind films that traffic in the world of memory, including “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Memento,” and even the Adam Sandler rom-com “50 First Dates.”
Memento (2000)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
influenced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Plot Visuals
Filmmakers who have ignored Hitch's advice with varying results include the Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall"), Christopher Nolan ("Memento"), the Wachowski Brothers ("The Matrix"), Terry Gilliam ("Brazil"), Ingmar Bergman ("Wild Strawberries"), David Lynch ("Lost Highway") and Andrei Tarkovsky ("Solaris"), Cameron Crowe via Alejandro Amenábar ("Vanilla Sky"/"Open Your Eyes") and that's just off the top of my head.
I never thought that I’d be comparing All the Real Girls with Memento in the same review.
Writer Charlie Kaufman spins another tale of the search for love among the maladjusted, this one a head-spinning combination of "Groundhog Day" and "Memento", featuring Jim Carrey's best performance to date.
This is the heart of the story and the fact that it is the thing that stands out in a film that, on the surface, plays like a romantic-comedy riff on "Memento" and "Total Recall" makes it all the more startling.
But in some ways, it's his most ambitious work to date, combining the puzzle-box structure of a "Memento" with the mind games of "Malkovich," and letting a troupe of fine actors run free with it.
Borrowing sequencing techniques from Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Eternal Sunshine delights and befuddles in much the same fashion, forcing viewers to experience the characters’ lingering sense of dislocation from the very circumstances of their own lives.
Eternity (2025)
Directed by David Freyne
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Visuals Plot Themes
Freyne’s treatment resorts to predictable and familiar notes, such as a chaotic chase through memories, reminiscent of the one in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
…there’s more than a bit of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” influence in how Freyne uses memories to chart the course of a relationship…
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind turns the mourning of a breakup into a metaphysical journey, while Seeking a Friend for the End of the World filters romantic longing through the absurd calm of an approaching apocalypse.
The film reminds me of the world-building created in THE TRUMAN SHOW, mixed with the creativity of THE GOOD PLACE, and a hint of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.
Inside Out (2015)
Directed by Pete Docter
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Themes
Pixar’s 15th film has the emotional intelligence and conceptual innovations of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , the interior narrative logic of Inception , and the referential, visual slapstick of Chuck Jones and Friz Freling.
We see Riley’s memories collapse and fade, not unlike the memories in Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but here there is the added threat that Riley’s very sense of who she is could collapse along with them.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
influenced by Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Plot
It's the kind of quirky, never-happen-in-real-life hobby that makes hardcore film fans salivate, but is really a copycat concept of Be Kind Rewind's "Sweded" movies.
(“Sweding,” if you’ve forgotten, is the art of making charmingly no-budget mini-remakes, a la Jack Black and Mos Def in “Be Kind Rewind.”)
(This, of course, is deliberate catnip to movie fans, and, yes, it does have elements of Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind to it, but with more cerebral material.)
You’ll groan, but pleasurably; they’re clear relatives of the “sweded” movies in Be Kind Rewind, but smarter and more concise.
Greg and Earl spend their time making parody remakes of popular art films of the ‘60s and ‘70s – so yes, the only entertaining thing in the film already formed the premise of a much better movie, “Be Kind Rewind.”
There are also aspects of Science that are reminiscent of Polanski's The Tenant (1976), but in what at least appears to be a more benign guise.
Scenes of Bronfman training Puff how to be a man sound a contemporary echo to Young Frankenstein , while playing hip, raunchy and hilarious.
Nathan's plan, a la "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan" (and, more than a little, "Young Frankenstein"), is to take Puff back to the city and civilize him.
It's also an anthology of memories from other films, reminding me intentionally or not of everything from "The Wild Child" and "A Clockwork Orange" to "Young Frankenstein" and, most important, "Mon Oncle d'Amerique," the neglected 1980 masterpiece by Alain Resnais that could have inspired this whole picture.
So they turn up the heat: After a ridiculous room-trashing fistfight between the hero and his sidekick (about as ridiculous as the similar fight in “Iron Man 2’’), “The Green Hornet’’ devolves into an overlong, confusingly shot demolition derby.
While it won't be giving the likes of The Dark Knight or Iron Man a run for the title of Greatest Superhero Movie Ever, it's a decent enough buddy-actioner that is at least better than the previews would have you believe.
It also feels a lot like 2008's " Iron Man " in that it is funny, its main character oozes charm, and it's designed with the hopes of spawning sequels.
Because unlike other genre movies, which had an occasional sense of humor — the “Iron Man” pictures, some of the early “Batman” films — this adventure aims for flat-out, frat-boy farce.
And while the second film in the " Iron Man " franchise lost the plot rather alarmingly, the first film with Robert Downey Jr. as the Marvel superhero was a pretty refreshing not-quite send-up.
Thunderbolts* (2025)
Directed by Jake Schreier
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Visuals Plot
…borrowing from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Chronicle and Everything Everywhere All at Once playbooks…
The cinematic reference is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but instead of Jim Carrey scampering around his own psyche it’s Pugh and her bickering, ramshackle squad crashing in and out of Bob’s psychological misery.
The premise takes on an "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" angle that doesn't quite stick the landing but is a fun ride all the same.
A passion and appreciation of movies and moviemaking give this film a thematic backbone reminiscent of Federico Fellini’s “8½”and Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”.
Her (2013)
Directed by Spike Jonze
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Themes
Charlie Kaufman will always have the honor of penning my favorite love story of all-time “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” but Spike Jonze and “Her” are giving it a true run for the money at the moment.
I suppose if he’d wanted, Jonze could’ve come up with a film about technology that replaces that sadness or extracts it, some kind of 22nd-century version of what Kaufman and Michel Gondry dreamed up for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind —of which Her is a clear descendant—Jonze’s film uses the tools of lightly scienced fiction to pose questions of genuine emotional and philosophical weight.
Her shares a lot of themes with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, another story about the difficulty of moving on from relationships that once seemed destined to last forever, and Phoenix, in a restrained performance radically different from his volcanic turn in The Master, conveys Theodore’s inner loneliness and yearning with a remarkable subtlety.
In terms of ethereal tone, offbeat romanticism and evanescent stylistic flourishes, the film that bears some comparison to Her is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which dealt with the search for love, its memory or its prospect, in a similarly fleeting, lightly heartbreaking manner.
The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020)
Directed by Natalie Krinsky
influenced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
When Lucy enters the apartment and tells Nadine and Amanda she’s been dumped, they spring into choreographed comfort mode, draping a blanket around Lucy and giving her chips and dip and wine and a DVD copy of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
This debasing spectacle costs Lucy her job, and her relationship, and when she arrives home a mess, her roommates are quick to literally mobilize with bottles of wine and a copy of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” on DVD.
When Lucy arrives home broken up and miserable early on, Nadine, Amanda and Amanda’s inscrutable boyfriend Jeff (Nathan Dales) immediately fall into a well-worn, almost balletic routine where their bestie is quickly furnished with a blanket, chips, chocolate, wine and a DVD of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind .
I noticed that one of the items they give her is a DVD copy of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which is one of the most romantic films I’ve ever watched.
Groundhog Day (1993)
Directed by Harold Ramis
influenced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Plot Themes
The inspiration for ''Sunshine,'' seems to be Harold Ramis's ''Groundhog Day,'' which -- like any great movie -- gains in stature as time passes.
Writer Charlie Kaufman spins another tale of the search for love among the maladjusted, this one a head-spinning combination of "Groundhog Day" and "Memento", featuring Jim Carrey's best performance to date.
The movie has the virtue of consistency and coherence—allied, within the movie's ambivalent but increasingly traditional ideology, with the virtues of smalltown American life—but, compared to other smugglings of high-wire absurdism into a pop format like Being John Malkovich or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Groundhog Day palpably lacks any kind of directorial verve.
In her first movie, “The Mask,” she played opposite Jim Carrey’s green-faced hero; 15 years later, she’s playing opposite Seth Rogen’s green-themed one.
The introduction of Cameron Diaz as secretary and shared object of affection is unfortunately a sad regression in her career, showing little evolution from her eye candy debut in The Mask.