Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight

[Atreides]

Quite possibly my favourite romantic movies of all time. I'm always so amazed by how honest and heartfelt Jesse and Celine are to each other. Counting both movies, the characters have only spent about 17-18 hours together but they know each other as if they've been together for years.

And I honestly didn't feel this when watching Sunset but afterwards, I realized how sad this movie is. The two of them know that they're meant for each other but both realize that their window of opportunity has passed and that they will likely never be together.

Anyone else a fan of these movies? I think Sunrise is the lowest-grossing movie ever to have a sequel. No matter how much of a pretentious asshat Ethan Hawke is in real life, I'll always like him for being in these movies.

[Deleted]

I could have sworn that we already had a thread on these but I can't find it now.

I hated them. Maybe it's because it took me years to see Before Sunrise so when I finally did see it, it had been built up way too much. Plus, the pseudo-intellectual ramblings of both of them made me want to throw things at the tv. Every conversation they had was "so meaningful" and "so intense".

Before Sunset made me want to scream my head off. I'm a cynic but I don't believe that they're meant for each other at all. I think they're both a bunch of spoiled self-absorbed hipsters who would do anything to escape adulthood and the normal responsibilities that come from growing up including cheat on their significant others.

[Margo]

I love the movies and own both of them.

I can relate to them in that there are rare people you meet and have a great conversation with within a minute of meeting each other. It's a perfect gelling of the minds, and I've been lucky enough to experience this one or two times in my life (he was non-single each one of those times).

I don't think they were made for each other, simply because I don't believe in this concept at all. What I believe in is that there is a very small number of people on Earth whose minds work in the same way yours does, and meeting one of them is like winning the lottery in both its probability, and its effects.

I don't view these movies as romantic, or at least not as romantic in the typical cheesy Hollywood way. I just see them as two people getting lucky, and the way in which they happen to get lucky happens to be about a relationship. I honestly could watch and love those movies about as much if they were simply about two people meeting and becoming best friends.

Jensational, I see cheating on your significant other in an opposite way from how you see it You see it as a responsibility to your significant other. I see it as a choice - when you choose to be with someone you are making a choice, and it is valid for only as long as you want to be with that person, and only with that person. The moment you stop to want that, you should end the "contract" of being with them. If you stay with them despite that, it feels too much like doing something because you have to, instead of something you want to do - basically, self-deception on a big scale.

[Deleted]

I see what you're saying. I just hate it in movies when they make the cheating seem romantic or something. Ethan Hawke's character still had a wife and kid back home. If he'd decided not to be with them, that's fine and understandable--divorces happen all the time--but at least have the balls to end the relationship before you go tarting around Europe with this woman you barely know and have only seen once in years and years.

It seemed to me that both loved what the other person represented: Youth, freedom, a life not yet ruined by the disappointments of age, and an ego boost--someone who will sit there and be all "Oooh, you're so deep and smart"

I mean naturally a marriage with a child is not even remotely going to compare to tromping around a foreign country. There are no bills to pay, no family holiday dinners to deal with, no rules, no bedtimes, no household chores. Of course it's easy! Of course it's fun. But life isn't easy and life isn't fun 100% of the time.

I get great joy imagining a third movie in the trilogy where the characters are married and they just fight constantly about how Ethan hasn't taken out the trash and the whole apartment smells like cigarette smoke and how she doesn't want to fly to America to spend Christmas with Ethan's family. You know, reality.

I should stop though. I really hated both of the characters. I'm usually the lone hater in a sea of people who love this. I just hate both movies so rabidly.

[Margo]

jensational said:

There are no bills to pay, no family holiday dinners to deal with, no rules, no bedtimes, no household chores. Of course it's easy! Of course it's fun. But life isn't easy and life isn't fun 100% of the time.

I agree with you in 99% of the cases. But it is possible to build a life without all these things, though you need to be in more high-paying jobs than the main characters. At least this is how I intend to build my life - I absolutely cannot stand the things you've described above, and I'm ready to do anything to avoid them. Maybe this is one of the reasons I love this movie so much.

I should stop though. I really hated both of the characters. I'm usually the lone hater in a sea of people who love this. I just hate both movies so rabidly.

My sympathies - I am often the lone hater with other things, but not this movie. Hate on and keep discussing it!

ETA: wait, no, he is a well-paid writer. In fact, they can build a life like that - just hire people to do the cooking, the cleaning, skip having kids, or hire nannies to take care of all the routine details.

[Atreides]

I get great joy imagining a third movie in the trilogy where the characters are married and they just fight constantly about how Ethan hasn't taken out the trash and the whole apartment smells like cigarette smoke and how she doesn't want to fly to America to spend Christmas with Ethan's family. You know, reality.

Even though I liked the movies, this is actually how I picture the third movie as well. They're finally together but realize that it's not working as the realities of life have set in. They then spend the night talking and talking and come to an ambiguous end.

On a side note, Vienna and Paris look lovely without drawing excessive attention to the scenery as a lot of travel porn movies tend to do.

[tamaradixon]

I liked the first better than the 2nd, but that's not saying much. I found them very very very (did I say very?) BORING!

[Maddiemoo]

I adore these movies, but maybe that's because I'm a big sap with a massive crush on Circa-1994-Ethan-Hawke. The scenery is beautiful and the dialog, while not always astounding, is (imo) really appropriate for the ages of the characters.

I actually think I like Sunset better than Sunrise. I thought I wouldn't, because I assumed the characters would be all cynical and jadded, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sunrise is all romantic and happy, which works for that film, but I like that they brought in more conflict for Sunset. I love the scene when they're driving to Celine's apartment, there's some great dialog there.

I'd love to see a third film in a few years, but the idea of them being miserable together makes me sad. If these two movies are the only ones, I'm okay with that -- Sunset had a perfect ending, if you ask me.

[iceblink]

I remember talking about these on another thread once, but they're deserving of their own. I'd count these as two of my favorite movies, yet I've only seen both of the one time each (I keep meaning to watch them back-to-back and remedy that, though). Seeing Sunrise when it was first released and then seeing Sunset 9-10 years later was...well, I spent most of Sunset wiping tears away without really noticing that I was crying. The sense of time and chances lost was so quietly shattering.
And ITA about the use of Vienna and Paris in both; you always know where you are but there's no "OMG check out the Eiffel Tower!" shot. Subtle and perfect.

[kayti2212]

Best. Movies. Ever. (The sequel is better though.)

The majority of my friends find them boring beyond belief, but I just adore everything about them.

Question for fans out there: Did they or didn't they end up together? The cynic in me says they didn't, but that, in my opinion, is the beauty of the whole thing.