finally saw before sunrise again today. it's the one movie that i've always wanted to re-watch because as i recall, i think we both kinda liked it -- but i can't really remember how good it actually was.despite my longing to re-watch this movie, i could never suggest it as a rental. because if the movie bombs then the guilt of two hours wasted times however many people are in the room falls upon my thin shoulders. that's a lot of guilt for one man to take. plus, it's kind of a girly movie and when people are clamoring for blood and guts and you offer up roses and candlelight, you might not survive the night unscathed. so, i've had to put before sunrise on my list of "i really want to watch this again but i don't know if it'll ever actually happen" movies.
and then suddenly, years after i initially experienced the power of before sunrise, a sequel came out. the aptly titled before sunset was released this summer. take a moment and realize how rare this is. an indie movie that made no money and was mostly deemed a critical disappointment, got a sequel. somewhere someone must be paying attention. and it sure as hell wasn't hollywood. so, on the heels of this new release, interest for the first movie was stirred across the land -- as evinced by the fact that all nine total copies (at two blockbusters) were rented out when i went to go get it.
there are few things more emasculating than asking the teenage blockbuster employee for "a copy of before sunrise please. you don't have it in stock? wait, can you check behind the counter? maybe someone just turned it in?" and then following up their negatory shake of a head with my sad shake of a head while stumbling out in a daze of confusion. "wait wait, how can this be? nobody has before sunrise? not even a vhs copy?" seppuku.
but i finally got the movie, i watched it, i cringed throughout wondering if the movie could withstand the test of time. sadly, it could not. when i first watched before sunrise, it was a revelation. a movie about talking. a movie with only talking. just two people who meet on a train and then wander vienna all night long, conversing about religion, love, whatever. it was a movie that mirrored few life experiences i'd actually had at the time. so i enjoyed it. but now, years later, after having engaged in some all night conversations myself, i found most of the conversation to be trite and banal. that was redundant, "trite and banal," like the movie. i thought ethan hawke made his move too soon. the chemistry between jesse and celine was a bit forced. i couldn't stop noticing how stupid jesse seemed, or his stereotypical leather jacket (he is american after all), and how celine's face scrunched up into an orgasmic ball every time their lips touched. plus, i've lately been against all "deep" conversations about religion and love.
despite all this, i still liked the movie. a lot. a half an hour into the movie i decided to toss away all my skepticism and analysis of the movie and just take it for what it was, a blast from the past. and not all the dialogue was as bad as i might make it sound. in fact, most if it was quite good. and some of the things they said still rang very true to me today. i would imagine that seeing this movie for the first time might evoke similar feelings to what i experienced the first time i saw it. but as they say, "once you pop the cherry, it's over." oh but it's not. because now, along comes before sunset and by all accounts, it's better than the first. so, the adventure continues. will luke beat darth? is neo the one? will sam and frodo finallly come out of the closet? will jesse and celine find immortal love? we shall find out.
in the pantheon of conversation movies, which is what i've decided to dedicate the month of september to, melvin goes to dinner must rank very high. it's a tiny movie that we ended up renting by accident. it's a play adapted into a movie, starring the original cast. it's wonderful and amazing. next up, my dinner with andre and thirteen conversations about one thing.
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