If your memories are erased, are you still you? Joel and Clementine’s personalities—his introversion, her impulsiveness—are tied directly to their pasts. The procedure doesn't create a blank slate; it creates a fractured, confused person who has lost a piece of their own story.

As Joel watches his memories of Clementine fade away during the procedure, he realizes he still loves her and tries to "hide" her in distant, unrelated memories to stop the erasure.

The film uses a non-linear narrative, leading the audience to believe the opening train scene is their first meeting, when it is actually a reunion of two people who have already forgotten each other. 2. Visual Language & Symbolism

Se olharmos para a frase através da lente da espiritualidade oriental, o significado se transforma radicalmente. O budismo, por exemplo, ensina que a raiz do sofrimento está no apego e na identificação com o ego — que é, em última análise, uma construção feita de memórias.