Favorite Films: The Before Trilogy

I have a yearly ritual that I’ve been loyal to for a few years. I binge-watch Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy. It started back in 2016 when I watched all three films at the Aero Theater in Los Angeles. I had seen them multiple times before, but that was the first time I saw them all, one after the other. The experience of being immersed in the lives of these two people over multiple decades made their story even more captivating. I found that the films resonated with me in completely different ways than when I originally saw them. They each capture such a specific time of life.

            The first film, Before Sunrise, is a gorgeous encapsulation of the idealistic and romantic ‘20s. The film starts on a train from Budapest. We are introduced to Jesse, a bright-eyed lost soul played brilliantly by Ethan Hawke. He embodies all the frustrations and ambitions of that age. Jesse has grand life plans for the future, but there is a deep yearning within him that will not be silenced. He meets a French woman, Celine, played by the fantastic Julie Delpy. They strike up a conversation and there is an immediate connection. It is difficult to describe exactly what makes actors have a dynamic like this. Sometimes it is a natural bond that is shaped via rehearsal and direction rather than created on the spot.

            Jesse is going to Vienna to catch a flight back to the United States, while Celine is going back to university in Paris. When they get to Vienna, he takes a risk and asks her to disembark with him in Vienna and walk around the town with him. He can sense there is something special developing between them, a kind of invisible aura she can feel, too. They get off the train together and spend the rest of the film wandering the city. That is all there is to it. A film about two people walking and talking is more engrossing to me than many of the most high-stakes dramas. There is a scene in a listening booth at a record store that is one of my favorites in any film. No words are spoken, just quick glances and the music. There is more romantic longing and emotion in that scene than in most others involving dialogue.

            There is so much genuine warmth and emotion in the way they communicate. Jesse and Celine are such distinct and interesting people. Their conversations are the kind you may overhear on the street. They do not always see eye to eye, but they understand each other enough to listen. Despite their differences, they are kindred wandering spirits. Jesse is already jaded by his recent experience with love. This trip is just a way for him to escape his anguish, but instead, it has become a journey of self-discovery. Celine has experienced heartache recently too. She gives every ounce of herself in a relationship, to the point where her ex claims she “loved him too much.” Jessie and Celine grow closer through their shared heartache. Interestingly, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy rewrote the original script but did not get credited for it. Thankfully, they got a co-writing credit on the sequels.

Much of the film is dedicated to two people figuring each other out and forming a connection, so I will not spoil the details of their dialogue. The idea of two people meeting on a train today seems like a different world. While some people certainly still meet in happenstance situations, so much of the dating world to me has become sterile and homogenized. I know the dating apps are the default method of meeting partners today and many people have formed fantastic relationships that way, but I feel such a disconnect from it. Personally, I feel uneasy about swiping left and right through people like I am browsing a human catalog. I have seen people put more thought into browsing for the next TV series to binge-watch on Netflix than on cycling through dating candidates at the meat parade.

I am well aware that meeting someone special on a train in Europe is unlikely to happen to most people, but it makes me wonder about what kind of connections I missed over the years. Jesse takes a chance by making contact with Celine. Most of us would never entertain the thought of asking a person we barely know to stroll the streets of Vienna. I tried it once and just got stared at like I was a psychopath. Though to be fair, I was in Los Angeles at the time. I thought binge-watching the trilogy would lessen the impact of Sunrise’s ending, but if anything, it strengthened it.

Jesse and Celine do not know if they will ever meet again. That uncertainty in their departure at the end made the next two films resonate even more. Before Sunset is the beginning of reality after the optimism and hopes of the ’20s are gone. Jesse has found success as a writer. His new book was inspired by this perfect day he had with Celine. He is doing a book launch in Paris and talking to a group of people. As he describes these magical snapshot moments he shared with her, we are shown reminders of the first film. There are layers of longing and regret in his voice. In his mind, when he wrote the book, he hoped that one day that would reconnect.

So of course, she is at the book launch event. They decide to walk around Paris together before his flight. Their conversations start light and nostalgic but soon delve into the fermenting sorrows. On the surface, their lives have turned out great. She became an environmental activist and he a successful writer. Both met other people and seemingly moved on. What else could they possibly need in life? Their anguishes bubble to the surface, Jesse has a son and wife, but he feels terrible that the relationship is not working anymore. For Jesse, writing the book was a kind of cathartic release, a hope that he may see Celine again. For her, it was a painful reminder of how her life did not turn out the way she had hoped. There is a scene in the back of a car where the dam breaks. It is a tidal wave of heartache and regret. The acting from Hawke and Delpy is among the best and most convincing I have ever seen. Even though I know there is a 3rd film, the ending of Sunset in her apartment never feels to warm my spirit.

Now we get to Before Midnight. This one really grew on me. I enjoyed the film when it first came out, but the bitterness and anger in the dialogue initially turned me off. How could these people I grew so fond of be attacking each other with so much venom? I was not ready for Jesse and Celine to go through this level of turmoil. When I rewatched the film in 2016 at the Aero triple feature, it finally clicked. Midnight is the perfect way to end the trilogy. We have gone through the hopeful idealism of youth, the sorrow, and lamentations of looking back at the life we never had, so now the only next step from there is the reality they live in.

Jesse and Celine have survived through arduous strife and the tearing apart of their lives. Jesse feels like the eternal villain for breaking apart his marriage and compromising the happiness of his son, Hank. Celine gave up everything to be with him. She threw away an incredible career and opportunities to make their relationship work. Before Midnight certainly has the moments of joy and romanticism that make these films so special, but it is tinged with an aching melancholy. They still have naturalistic conversations, but they build up to a conflict between the two that is painful to watch.

The argument they have in the hotel room near the end is a brutal and honest venting of their anguish and ire. Neither of them are where they want to be in life. The regret forms a palpable haze. By the end of the film, when all hope and joy seem lost forever, they manage to pick up the pieces. The final scene is an elegant portrait of the hardship of love. It is agonizing and can feel like a never-ending struggle not to drown, but we fight through the torment and dissension to remind ourselves what matters most. Sometimes, we fall in battle and must limp away in defeat, but if something is worth saving, we will charge through hell to make it survive.