3 years later, I'm back. Looking forward to explore the site again.
3 years later, I'm back. Looking forward to explore the site again.
Member since:20.08.2004
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Do you believe in love? Come on...do you REALLY believe in love? Do you believe it is possible to love someone and not tell them one single time that you love them? "Before Sunset" is the sequel of the most ingenious movie ever made about life and love, "Before Sunrise".
Let me just give you a brief introduction to the story's beginning and how it all started. In the first movie "Before Sunrise" we meet Jesse (Ethan Hawke) (an American traveling through Europe) and Celine (Julie Delpy) (a French beauty traveling back to Paris after visiting her grandmother). They both travel in the same train and as Celine tries to read her book a German couple begins a full blown argument next to her which motions her to find another seat.
And of course, on the seat across hers there's Jesse and his book! The two begin to talk and soon realize they have a lot in common and that they want to spend more time with each other exchanging views on life and how they see it. Jesse proposes that Celine gets off the train with him in Vienna and keep him company until it's time for his flight back to the USA early in the morning. He doesn't have enough money for a hotel and the pair embarks on a journey through the streets of Vienna.
The time they spend together sharing their most intimate feelings and giving us at the same time great insights into our own lives, as we become aware
of increasing attraction between the two characters! As time elapses we wish that this young beautiful couple will never be separated… But when the morning comes, just before sunrise, Jesse takes Celine back to the train station to see her off, they make a last minute arrangement of meeting in the same place six months later! Exchanging letters and phone numbers is out of question as they feel that this is something that would make their relation cool off…
10 years later…Before Sunset ======
So, someone didn't show up and the supposedly six months ended in a 10 year separation.
"Before Sunset" starts with Jesse, now visibly older, giving a book signing at a bookshop in Paris. His book about his night with Celine 10 years before has enjoyed some success and he is now on the last stop of his book promotion tour in Europe. In his book, just like in "real life" the mystery remains as to whether they'd meet again.
This Jesse won't reveal! As he answers the journalists' questions he is surprised by someone standing smiling at him. Celine has come to see him and he sees her for the first time since they parted in Vienna.
They quickly pick where they left talking non-stop, after all, Jesse has a plane to catch just before sunset and this leaves them just over an hour to catch up. As they walk the streets of Paris looking for a place to have a coffee they inevitable issue arises. Did any of them show up in Vienna six month later?
We soon learn that Jesse did but fate would have it that Celine had to attend her nana's funeral exactly on the day they were supposed to meet! And since they hadn't exchanged phone numbers no contact could be made…
After this main point is clarified (even though some fans of this movie would argue that Celine hasn't in fact showed up because she did not want to; the film leaves a lot of options open for the viewer to decide) the movie continues as the first movie.
The two characters continue to walk through Paris after a brief stop for coffee. The format of their chats is the same. They don't stop for a minute, long inspiring dialogues (even if they may sound mundane at times they carry something deep) with insights on their lives that mirror our own lives, expectations, dreams…this time the perspective is given from someone that is 10 years older and realized some, if not most, of their dreams did not come true and that, after all, they cannot save the world (don't we all believe that up until, say, our twenties?)
What is so marvelous about this film is that it is so unconventional. There are only two characters, not many locations, and the dialogues are what make the movie what it is, aided by beautiful locations. The tension and understanding between Celine and Jesse makes you want to scream "kiss her", "tell her/him that you love her/him"…but your wish won't be granted!
Yet, we all know that they dearly love each other! Personally I have never seen a film that feels so real and I have never seen on screen, or real life, two people with such great understanding. I literally waited 10 years for a sequel of this film and I wasn't disappointed by "Before Sunset".
Do these two characters stay together in the end? I won't tell you that. For this you must see this film. And if possible, see the two: "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset".
There is a box set that includes the two. The DVD for "Before Sunset" includes special features that comprise of subtitles (I like to have the English subtitles so that I can read all they say as well. English is not my first language and I don't want to miss a bit), and a documentary of the making of the film with the director, film crew and of course, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.
Another special thing about "Before Sunset" (as if it isn't special enough as it is) is the fact that Julie and Ethan wrote the script and all the production was involved in the making and developing of the movie. It was true group work and a love job of people that, just like the rest of us, did not feel that the story could have ended where it did!
It's true that the movie never became a blockbuster. It was a low budget production with no massive advertising campaigns. It didn't need all that. It still went to win important award in independent cinema festivals around the world.
Delpy and Hawke proved their talent as actors once again. They truly entered the skin of the characters they played. These are the very few films I watch over and over again!
If you want to give someone special a special present this Christmas look for the most beautiful love story ever written since Romeo and Juliet…well, to me anyway!
Must see: www.beforesunset.com
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Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
In 1994, director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused,Waking Life) madeBefore Sunrise, a ... more
gorgeous poem of a movie about two strangers (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) wandering around Vienna, talking, and falling in love. Ten years later, Link...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Enchanting, Romantic, beautifully shot, Excellent dialogue Disadvantages: You won't like it if you don't like films with a lot of talking in! Otherwise, none.
templeria 05.09.2006 (06.09.2006)
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