1995
Directed By Richard Linklater
Starring Ethan Hawke and Juile Delpy
Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) have a chance
encounter on a train in Europe and spend one night together in Vienna with the
knowledge that their paths will never cross again. A conversation between two
people from opposite ends of the Earth as they walk the streets of Vienna, that’s
all it is. The film shows a complete relationship in the course of one night.
The film maker is nearly invisible in this movie. You never
feel like you are being led by anything more than the conversation that our two
leads are having. While watching Before Sunrise I thought about conversations between me and my wife. I thought about times when we have been fully engaged and sharing our thoughts. The film sheds light on a tragedy of modern life, conversations like this should be far more common. They should, but I worry we all have
our heads so firmly planted in our cellular devices we don’t look up to
take part in the world around us. I for one am tired of competing for attention
with Facebook and Instagram. I know I’m not as interesting as whatever has just
been posted on Pintrest but the conversation we could be having would bury it.
The connection we could be experiencing is what makes life worth living. A life
will never be measured by retweets.
This movie is almost 20 years old but it doesn't feel at all
dated. There is no soundtrack or cell
phones that put a time stamp on the film. In fact when they do talk about how technology
has improved their lives and given them more free time they waste it on empty
pursuits. And that sentiment rings truer today than it did 20 years ago.
This movie made me miss my wife. I saw her earlier today but
we were going through the motions.I’m not sure how engaged with one another we
were. I kissed her goodbye and we made each other laugh but this movie made me
want more. I want to take a walk with
her soon. Catch up. Ask her about things we never talk about. Not the news of
the day, our son or the house but the things that really matter, the things
that make her so uniquely her. Don’t get
me wrong I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life wrapped up in
conversations like the one in Before Sunrise but I do want to have them more
often.
The mark of a great movie in my estimation is how long it
sticks with you and I have a feeling this film will stick with me for years to
come, or at least I hope it will.
Comments