a movie that grips me

I got a copy of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind months ago but just came around to watch it last night. It's a kind of movie that the preview totally fails the movie itself. When I saw the trailer in a theater when it came out, I thought this was a silly sci-fi romantic comedy bullshit and put the DVD on my shelf for several months. To my pleasant surprise, this collaboration of Charlie Kaufman (who wrote Adaptation and Being John Malkovich-movies I like but not love) and Michel Gondry (who made several music videos by Massive Attack, Bjork, and others) ranks way up there on my favorite movie list. Aside from the fantasy aspects of the memory-machine gizmo and whacked-out brain MRI images used in the movie (I do allow some "scientific license" here), the movie is pretty close to perfect. It is perfectly casted, well acted, with great direction and cinematography and the story telling is really crafty. For those who are (or have ever been) in love, you will see both the beautiful and ugly truths of any relationship. Ultimately true love just cannot be denied and it is healthier to hold on to the positive images of your past love than to dwell on the negative ones. (sorry for this sappy posting-but that is my interpretation of the movie.) I read somewhere that Gondry has also done the Dave Chapelle Block Party which is showing now in NYC. Let me know if anyone has seen it.