Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Seemed like a good idea at the time
Before Sunrise, one of my favorite movies of all-time: thoughtful, spontaneous and dialogue-oriented, is having a sequel. I just love hearing smart people talk. Not pseudo-intellectual bullshit. Just creative, natural conversations that spark unconventional wisdom. Check this out:
Celine: You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more.
Celine: No, then it sounds like a male fantasy. Meet a French girl on the train, fuck her, and never see her again.
And the movie was...I hate to use that word....romantic. Nowadays, I pretty much despise all Hollywoodized romantic comedies, even though once in awhile some good ones came along: e.g., As Good As It Gets, High Fidelity, Kissing Jessica Stein. Romantic feelings should be unforced and they're conveyed when the two protagonists are having meaningful conversations, usually near a bridge.
The sequel is entitled Before Sunset when Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply meet nine years later, at a book reading in Paris. Usually, I'm not in favor of sequels for this type of movies. But this time I kinda anticipate it, because I care about the characters, and the ending of the last one leaves everything in the open. We knew Jesse and Celine would meet again, but how? and what might happen?
Which leaves me to this theory: I believe there are certain special people in our lives that we have previously lost touch whom we'll run into again. We don't know how and when we're gonna see them again, but we will. And it'll probably be at a record store or a bookstore. And you'll talk about recent events and reminisce old times. Then you'll connect, once again, and it's up to you to make the next move. If you're a pragmatic person, you'll ask for his or her number and say "Let's have lunch some time," (although you may not call necessarily). If you're a passive person, you'll leave it to fate again and hope you'll meet again in the future.
The point is: There's a short window of opportunity where this type of thing happens. Imagine you're Jesse and Celine because you may not see each other again. Like Claude Sautet (director of Nelly et. M. Arnaud) says of two lonely people, "Maybe they can see each other again. But certainly not right away. Maybe. Maybe. It's open."
Fate is 70% chance and 30% free will.
Before Sunset comes out in July. Let's see if my theory holds true.
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Celine: You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more.
Celine: No, then it sounds like a male fantasy. Meet a French girl on the train, fuck her, and never see her again.
And the movie was...I hate to use that word....romantic. Nowadays, I pretty much despise all Hollywoodized romantic comedies, even though once in awhile some good ones came along: e.g., As Good As It Gets, High Fidelity, Kissing Jessica Stein. Romantic feelings should be unforced and they're conveyed when the two protagonists are having meaningful conversations, usually near a bridge.
The sequel is entitled Before Sunset when Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply meet nine years later, at a book reading in Paris. Usually, I'm not in favor of sequels for this type of movies. But this time I kinda anticipate it, because I care about the characters, and the ending of the last one leaves everything in the open. We knew Jesse and Celine would meet again, but how? and what might happen?
Which leaves me to this theory: I believe there are certain special people in our lives that we have previously lost touch whom we'll run into again. We don't know how and when we're gonna see them again, but we will. And it'll probably be at a record store or a bookstore. And you'll talk about recent events and reminisce old times. Then you'll connect, once again, and it's up to you to make the next move. If you're a pragmatic person, you'll ask for his or her number and say "Let's have lunch some time," (although you may not call necessarily). If you're a passive person, you'll leave it to fate again and hope you'll meet again in the future.
The point is: There's a short window of opportunity where this type of thing happens. Imagine you're Jesse and Celine because you may not see each other again. Like Claude Sautet (director of Nelly et. M. Arnaud) says of two lonely people, "Maybe they can see each other again. But certainly not right away. Maybe. Maybe. It's open."
Fate is 70% chance and 30% free will.
Before Sunset comes out in July. Let's see if my theory holds true.
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