Before Sunrise/Sunset

Pigman II

Anyone else love these films?

I'm a huge fan of Linklater but I think I'd still love these two films even if I wasn't. I watched both back to back again this evening and the 3 hours runtime felt like about 10 minutes before it was all over. It's hard for me to find films where I actually like the characters but Celine and Jessie have me onside from start to finish. I guess maybe it's cos the events in the movie sort of mirror events in my own life (perhaps they do for everyone) but I can just sort of immerse myself in their dialogues and feelings.

Hope they keep making a sequel every ten years or so. That'd be a fairly interesting experiment.

johnny_ultimate

Love these films. Beautifully simple romances that if you approach with an open mind you can't help but be captivated by their honesty.
Although I much prefer the sequel to Sunrise. Sunrise is great and all (especially the record booth scene, which says more than words ever could) but feels a little uneven. Before Sunset, on the other hand, is constantly rewatchable, and the running time flies by. It's all to brief, which perfectly sums up the two character's roles in each others lives.

While I think overall Linklater is an uneven director (while I love Waking Life, and liked Dazed and Confused, both Fast Food Nation and a Scanner Darkly underwhelmed me), any director who can produced films like these two really deserves attention.

Lands Leaving

Absolutely loved them, very few films create such an atmosphere of genuine romance, loved the ending to sunset too

cailinoBAC

Really up in my favourite films of all time. Also, as to which is better, well, while most people say Sunset is the better film, and that might be the case, I just think there's such a youthful innocence about Sunrise. The idea that life is so open, anything can happen. Whereas Sunset they are a lot more cynical and realise that life has limitations. When I watched Before Sunrise I was a lot younger than the characters. Now I am a few years older...would still like to believe...
I think the reason that so many people love the film is that there is so much to relate to. Everybody has, at some time or another, met somebody for a short time, felt a connection, and maybe thinks about that person. Or others have met that person and the meeting turned into something greater.

Ar3d

Really? i had no idea for that movie, whose the main character of the said film?

Drag00n79

Boxset for sale on Sendit for €12.49.

simu

I've only seen the second one - it was one of the few romantic films I've seen that seemed like something that could have happened in my own life. Good stuff!

RichyX

I've been thinking about checking out those films for some time.
Might just invest in that boxset

longshotvalue

Apologies for raking up an old tread, but im blown away by these films. They get better and better trough both films.

Sensational..

Illkillya

I hated these films, they made me want to puke.

ntlbell

Illkillya wrote: »

I hated these films, they made me want to puke.

I'm really surprised at the posts in this thread especially johnny for a man of his taste

quickbeam

Loved Sunrise. Thought it was beautifully innovative. I was dead set against a sequel being made. I thought that leaving it not knowing whether they ever met again was a better option. One day I reluctantly tuned in to Sunset and I recanted everything I ever thought about it. I thought it was wonderful too.

I do hope they stop at two though.

Sad Professor

Sunrise plays out like a male romantic fantasy about about a handsome, articulate young man meeting a beautiful, equally articulate, not to mention single, French chick on a train and having a ridiculously romantic night together in Vienna, which they both just happen to be travelling through. The actors are great, but the whole scenario is difficult to take seriously.

Sunset, on the other hand, is much more mature and interesting film. Despite the backdrop, the characters are easier to relate to and the fact that they already know each other makes their conversations more believable. And the ending is perfection.

I prefer Lost in Translation to both of them. It's less talky, more cinematic.

longshotvalue

funny you mention Lost in Translation, as i think Sunset is just a little bit better, but all 3 are total class

Mickeroo

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sunrise plays out like a male romantic fantasy about about a handsome, articulate young man meeting a beautiful, equally articulate, not to mention single, French chick on a train and having a ridiculously romantic night together in Vienna, which they both just happen to be travelling through. The actors are great, but the whole scenario is difficult to take seriously.

I thought it was handled in a very believable fashion though. I can attest to similar (not exactly the same) situations happening in real life too from personal experience, I ended up going out with my Celine for 2 years

They're two of my favourite films of all time, I also prefer the sequel though for pretty much the same reasons you outlined. I think honest is probably the best word which describes Before Sunset imo, you can tell Delphy and hawk put a lot of themselves in the roles.

Don't think I'd rate Lost in Translation higher (only by a whisker though) but I agree it is more cinematic.

ntlbell

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sunrise plays out like a male romantic fantasy about about a handsome, articulate young man meeting a beautiful, equally articulate, not to mention single, French chick on a train and having a ridiculously romantic night together in Vienna, which they both just happen to be travelling through. The actors are great, but the whole scenario is difficult to take seriously.

She's not remotley attractive ?

johnny_ultimate

I have certainly grown less fond of Before Sunrise in the half decade (Egads!) since I last posted in this thread. It just doesnt have as much to differentiate it from the crowd. But I remain just as fond of Sunset. I love the tone, pace and sheer romanticism of it, alongside the real time delivery which is a much more suitable structure for the concept.

Wouldnt put it near Lost in Translation, mind, but there's a lot to be said for understated romances that are actually romantic. Id highly recommend Quiet City for fans of these films, that's another real charmer.

Sad Professor

Funny we should be talking about this because...

According to Hawke, they start shooting the third film this summer:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ethan-hawke-says-before-sunrise-before-sunset-followup-shoots-this-summer-20120613

johnny_ultimate

I'm actually eager to see what direction they'd take a third one, truth be told. A sequel I'd genuinely be interested in watching.

I'd particularly love it if it was a more bittersweet film, perhaps detailing what would have happened if they gave into temptation at the end of the last one. Maybe illustrating that the relationship is suited to these brief, romantic tangents but doesn't lend itself to a longer term thing.

Or it could just be another romantic walk around a pretty European city. Whatever.

Sad Professor

Yeah, if it's just them walking around another city after not seeing each other for 10 years (again), then colour me underwhelmed. It'll ruin the ending of the last film.

The two of them married with kids might be a more daring direction to go in, but they won't do that. These films are basically Hawke and Delpy playing alter egos of themselves and having a little reunion every 10 years.

Having said that, maybe I'm wrong and this will be really brilliant and profound on the level of Scenes from a Marriage/Saraband... but Linklator is directing, so probably not.

What will they call it? After Sunrise?

johnny_ultimate

Yeah Before Sunset, Slacker and Waking Life stick out like a sore thumb in the otherwise underwhelming filmography of Mr. Linklater (Dazed and Confused is OK but hardly the classic its often heralded as). Very inconsistent fellow.

That said, Scenes from a Marriage / Saraband comparison is interesting, as to me both that duo and the Before films are sequels that significantly improve upon the initial film.

Mickeroo

Sad Professor wrote: »

Funny we should be talking about this because...

According to Hawke, they start shooting the third film this summer:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ethan-hawke-says-before-sunrise-before-sunset-followup-shoots-this-summer-20120613

I remember them mentioning when Sunset came out that they'd do another in 9 years time or so, looks like they're following through on that.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Yeah Before Sunset, Slacker and Waking Life stick out like a sore thumb in the otherwise underwhelming filmography of Mr. Linklater (Dazed and Confused is OK but hardly the classic its often heralded as). Very inconsistent fellow.

I'd rate Dazed & Confused second to Sunrise/Sunset (though I still haven't got around to watching waking life). I haven't watched Slacker in a long time, must still have the VHS lying around somewhere, its an interesting film but hardly what I'd call compelling. I think Dazed and confused does something similar to slacker but in a much better way, although I guess nostalgia has a lot to play in my opinion of Dased & Confused too.

He's a very inconsistent director though, plenty of his films I had no idea were by him, seems to do the odd one just for the pay cheque too e.g. Bad News Bears. What was that one with Zack Efron about Orson Welles too?

School of Rock is great though imo

johnny_ultimate

I think Slacker laid the foundations for Waking Life and Before Sunset and helped establish the talky, moderately philosophical manner of storytelling that has defined the more unique Linklater films. I don't necessarily think it's great storytelling, but it's definitely interesting. Waking Life is excellent, though, and pretty much a sequel to Slacker tonally (and has a cameo from Delpy and Hawke).

His mainstream stuff can be good fun - School of Rock is definitely more endearing than it has any right to be - but altogether I think he has very skewed quality control.

indough

i really don't understand how anybody could like waking life. it's like watching an over eager first year philosophy students essay played out in terrible animation. people spouting laymens philosophy is boring at the best of times but this felt like watching someone trying to masturbate and pat themselves on the back at the same time. a scanner darkly is far superior, it actually has a story and the animation doesn't look like it was done by a strung out smack head with a packet of crayons.

Sleepy

I adore these films. Before Sunrise sparked the flames of wanderlust in me when I caught it on late night Channel 4 in about 1998 and I'm not sure if it either inspired or just brought to the surface a romantic streak I didn't know I had until then. I was also one of those that was dead-set against a sequel but ended up eating my words.

I actually spent 3 beautiful days visiting most of the scenes from Sunrise with a motley group of backpackers of a load of different nationalities that I met in a youth hostel there. It remains one of the happiest memories of my youth and I'll definitely return to Vienna at some point.

I can recognise the flaws in Linklater's work but I can forgive him his less than brilliant movies or imperfections in the good ones in the same way that I can forgive the pop and hiss on a vinyl LP. He's not trying to be a Scorcese, a Welles or a Kubrick: he just makes likeable, warm movies and I love him for it tbh.

johnny_ultimate

indough wrote: »

i really don't understand how anybody could like waking life. it's like watching an over eager first year philosophy students essay played out in terrible animation. people spouting laymens philosophy is boring at the best of times but this felt like watching someone trying to masturbate and pat themselves on the back at the same time. a scanner darkly is far superior, it actually has a story and the animation doesn't look like it was done by a strung out smack head with a packet of crayons.

A Scanner Darkly is a dull mess in most respects, ineffectively adapting a novel that should have remained a novel.

Yes, some of the philosophising in Waking Life is trite, but it's meant to be on occasion. Throws a lot of ideas at the screen, and the viewer is allowed to figure out which ones are nonsense. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Before Sunset, or as ironic as Slacker, but I think the messy visuals work excellently for a strange fever dream of a film.

Sad Professor

Apparently they are shooting the sequel in Greece at the moment. The rumoured title is Before Midnight.

http://collider.com/ethan-hawke-before-sunset-sequel-before-midnight-greece/191836/

Bad Panda

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sunrise plays out like a male romantic fantasy about about a handsome, articulate young man meeting a beautiful, equally articulate, not to mention single, French chick on a train and having a ridiculously romantic night together in Vienna, which they both just happen to be travelling through. The actors are great, but the whole scenario is difficult to take seriously.

Sunset, on the other hand, is much more mature and interesting film. Despite the backdrop, the characters are easier to relate to and the fact that they already know each other makes their conversations more believable. And the ending is perfection.

I prefer Lost in Translation to both of them. It's less talky, more cinematic.

In fairness, they're at totally different stages of their lives in the second one so that goes without saying.

Difficult to take seriously? That's not a very good argument when it comes to film to be honest.

It's not even far-fetched.

Total Recall is difficult to take seriously if you try to take it seriously. Some films you have to suspend belief.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

hrm
i always assumed they got together after sunset... wonder what midnight will bring to the table.. a third chance encounter would be a bit silly, you'd imagine they'd have taken the hint by now that they're meant to be together.

Sad Professor

Bad Panda wrote: »

In fairness, they're at totally different stages of their lives in the second one so that goes without saying.

Difficult to take seriously? That's not a very good argument when it comes to film to be honest.

It's not even far-fetched.

Total Recall is difficult to take seriously if you try to take it seriously. Some films you have to suspend belief.

Suspension of disbelief isn't an issue for me. I just think Sunrise plays out like romantic fantasy. Which is fine, I like the film, but I think the sequel is better, less contrived, with Hawke and Delpy's own real life experiences playing into it more, delivering an overall more meaningful experience than its predecessor.

But you are quite right about each film reflecting the different stages of their lives. If not for the sweet adolescent innocence of the first film, then we wouldn't have the regret-filled sequel.

Sleepy

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sunrise plays out like a male romantic fantasy about about a handsome, articulate young man meeting a beautiful, equally articulate, not to mention single, French chick on a train and having a ridiculously romantic night together in Vienna, which they both just happen to be travelling through. The actors are great, but the whole scenario is difficult to take seriously.

I don't know tbh. I had encounters that weren't that dis-similar in my twenties. Fair enough I'm no Ethan Hawke, the girls weren't quite as attractive as Julie Delpy and the dialogues wasn't quite as articulate but the feeling was the same...

And isn't that the point of these films? To convey a feeling? They're hardly trying to be cinema-verité...

Sad Professor

They finished shooting last night.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/toronto-richard-linklater-completes-before-midnight-just-before-festival-begins/