BEFORE SUNRISE
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| Céline (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) |
Austria, summer 94: Céline (Julie Delpy), a french student meets Jesse (Ethan Hawke) on a train. After just a few words, Jesse convinces Céline to follow him and spend the night in Vienna: ‘Jump ahead 10, 20 years ok, and you’re married and your marriage doesn’t have the same energy that it used to have you know, so you start to blame your husband, you start to think about all those guys you’ve met in your life and what may have happened if you picked up with one of them, right ? well, I am one of those guys’.
As they go on talking about various subjects, both of them realize that something is going on between them.
The dialogue is simple but reveals aspects of their personalities and translates the thoughts of young people with their life ahead of them: parents, ambition, the vision of the future, love and relationships, dreams, reincarnation, time travel, etc. But the most wonderful thing about Before Sunrise is the chemistry between the two main characters, young and crazy. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke’s performances are deep and complex, making this movie one of the best romantic films ever.
Coup de coeur: Jesse asks the barman to give them a bottle of wine and promised to send him the money later. The man accepted.
BEFORE SUNSET
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| Céline (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) |
Summer 2004: Jesse is in Paris for the release of his book, sharing his past experiences to the outside world. He was answering questions on an interview when Céline showed up: a surprise and an awkward moment. This time, they decided to spend the day together before Jesse’s flight in the evening.
Ten years ago in Vienna, the pair agreed to meet in six months but they missed their rendez-vous. Thus, there were a lot to talk about. Jesse is a famous author, married and has a son Henry. Céline works on the environment fields, is in a relationship as well whereas he’s not around all the time. Things have changed in a decade but they haven’t lost their sense of humour and the love they have had for each other.
Before Sunset shows wonderful views of the City of Light as the characters walk and talk. The conversation subjects haven’t changed that much but now is the time for more realistic issues, memories, regrets, depression, etc. How pleasant to see them together again, enjoying the moment so much that sometimes, they seem to forget they’re there only for the day.
Coup de cœur : Céline’s song
Quote
Céline : There are so many things I wanna do and I end up doing not much
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
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| Céline (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) |
9 years have passed since Paris. Jesse and Céline live together now and have twins. Jesse’s son Henry lives with his mom but comes to visit him in Europe from time to time.
Céline and Jesse try to have quality time together with the girls to escape from their daily issues. They still talk about this and that but now with them knowing each other for a long time, the relationship has evolved.
After years of living together, the magic of being in love is fading and the reality is something else. The first two films may have been seen as some series of bla bla but everything makes sense now. I remember there was a couple having an argument in Sunrise and Jesse telling Céline that ‘as couples get older, they lose the ability to hear each other’. The same thing is now happening to them. Jesse’s divorce, his guilt of not being there enough for his son, Céline’s professional aspiration, the girls, middle-life crisis, etc. these are ingredients suggesting they are put to the test.
Coup de cœur: seeing Ethan and Julie growing aging with their character, we could imagine they were having fun during the shooting.
To sum everything up, let’s justsay the Before trilogy is a story about a lifetime, about people’perception of life and experience, and how they cope with reality.
Quote
Jesse: when I was younger, I just wanted time to speed up. So I could be free from my parents and school and all that shit. I just wanted to close my eyes and wake up and be an adult. And now I kind of feel that happened I just want everything to slow down
See also: Midnight in Paris (2011)
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