BEING CHARLIE KAUFMAN

By Carolina A. Miranda

Take a couple with a shaky union, erase their memories of each other, distort time. If you didn't get it all the first time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is ready for repeat viewing on DVD. The disc has commentary by writer Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation), who spoke with TIME's Carolina A. Miranda.

How did the idea for the film come about?

[Director] Michel Gondry had a friend who wanted to send cards out saying you'd been erased from someone's memory. There were ideas of doing it as a thriller, like The Bourne Identity. I preferred a relationship movie.

The plot is fantasy, but the portrayal of the unraveling relationship is so realistic. Was that intentional?

I grew up watching romantic movies, but they're like fast food: You know what you're going to get. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to show the struggle that occurs between two people.

In profiles, you're often described as very shy or reclusive. Do you agree?

There's a mythology since I don't like to be photographed. I just don't like the overkill of interviews. I feel that people will think, Here he is again, saying the same thing.