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alobearWhen I heard that Richard Linklater was releasing a third Before... film, I immediately got in touch with David and suggested we do a triple bill event, watching all three films in one day. Scheduling didn't work out and the release period of Before Midnight came and went without us seeing it. But, the Prince Charles Cinema came to the rescue with a triple bill event of their own last night, of which we delightedly partook.
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight depict three days-in-the-life of a couple (Jesse and Celine), with a nine year gap between each film. I think your reaction to each film will very much depend on your own life circumstances, and I certainly viewed the first two very differently to the last time I saw them (nine years ago, when I rewatched the first one before seeing the second for the first time).
I think the progression of the characters from one film to the next is very skilfully done, but I also found that progression rather depressing. Inevitably, the drawbacks that the youngsters point out to long relationships rear their ugly heads once they've been together for some years, resulting in the destruction of the idyllic falling-in-love episode of the first film. I think all three films are very good, but I'm not sure I like what they ultimately say about life and relationships, however realistic it may be. Plus, Celine's fresh-faced idiosyncracies in the first film seem to have turned her into a bitter, bag-of-cats nutjob by her 40s, which is a bit of a shame.
The addition of a whole group of new characters in the third film was odd at first, but a welcome and realistic change overall - it signified that couples in their 40s are unlikely to be wholly wrapped up in each other, as they were when they first me, and it also provided a refreshing range of different attitudes to love and relationships, which balanced the film out a little.
I'm very much with Patrick, the elderly novelist hosting the summer gathering. He described his marriage as: "She looked after herself and asked me to do the same, with plenty of room to meet in the middle." This, in my view, is the best way to run a relationship - it's certainly not perfect (what possibly could be?), but it generally works very well for me and Dave.
Overall, a very enjoyable evening, with one unexpected result. The first film ended, leaving me in a haze of nostalgia - because I had a night like that once, and I'd forgotten all about it! :o)
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight depict three days-in-the-life of a couple (Jesse and Celine), with a nine year gap between each film. I think your reaction to each film will very much depend on your own life circumstances, and I certainly viewed the first two very differently to the last time I saw them (nine years ago, when I rewatched the first one before seeing the second for the first time).
I think the progression of the characters from one film to the next is very skilfully done, but I also found that progression rather depressing. Inevitably, the drawbacks that the youngsters point out to long relationships rear their ugly heads once they've been together for some years, resulting in the destruction of the idyllic falling-in-love episode of the first film. I think all three films are very good, but I'm not sure I like what they ultimately say about life and relationships, however realistic it may be. Plus, Celine's fresh-faced idiosyncracies in the first film seem to have turned her into a bitter, bag-of-cats nutjob by her 40s, which is a bit of a shame.
The addition of a whole group of new characters in the third film was odd at first, but a welcome and realistic change overall - it signified that couples in their 40s are unlikely to be wholly wrapped up in each other, as they were when they first me, and it also provided a refreshing range of different attitudes to love and relationships, which balanced the film out a little.
I'm very much with Patrick, the elderly novelist hosting the summer gathering. He described his marriage as: "She looked after herself and asked me to do the same, with plenty of room to meet in the middle." This, in my view, is the best way to run a relationship - it's certainly not perfect (what possibly could be?), but it generally works very well for me and Dave.
Overall, a very enjoyable evening, with one unexpected result. The first film ended, leaving me in a haze of nostalgia - because I had a night like that once, and I'd forgotten all about it! :o)
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 07:48 pm (UTC)(recent brief comments result from the fact that I have a trapped nerve in my right wrist so am currently basically 1 handed while I rest it. It sucks. I really hope it heals soon :()
no subject
Date: 2013-08-15 07:59 pm (UTC)Poor you! I hope it gets better soon.
*hugs*