Course:Before Sunrise
| CRWR 501P 003 |
|---|
 |
| Advanced Writing of Poetry |
|
| Important Course Pages |
| Categories |
Before Sunrise (1995) is a romantic-drama film starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It's directed by Richard Linklater. Thematically it's about finding oneself through interacting with a significant other.
"On his way to Vienna, American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Celine (Julie Delpy), a student returning to Paris. After long conversations forge a surprising connection between them, Jesse convinces Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna. Since his flight to the U.S. departs the next morning and he has no money for lodging, they wander the city together, taking in the experiences of Vienna and each other. As the night progresses, their bond makes separating in the morning a difficult choice."
In my mid-twenties, when I started to get interested in film and screenwriting, I reached out to a family friend Kaja, who's father taught my father drumming. Kaja had sold story rights to Hollywood executives and had been writing comic books and young adult fiction for decades. We would meet about once a month at his house for coffee and lunch and discuss storytelling, film and the business. He was my first mentor.
I soon started to borrow DVDs from his vast collection. He'd often curate picks for me beforehand, telling me in his soft way to look out for how this film portrays character, or how the tone of this one is set. One day he picked Before Sunrise and told me, "You will fall in love with this film." I brushed off such an insane claim.
It was a summer day. I was in the cool basement. I popped in the DVD. From the first few frames of a train ride through Austrian countryside, I was captivated. The performances of the two main characters, Jesse and Celine, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, were so believable, I felt like God watching young, insecure love unfold. There were many moments throughout the film where my heart leapt out of my chest, awakening in me a romantic side I didn't think existed. There was action, but it was subtle, calm and real. The film captured a series of special moments with such ease, something that I didn't think could be captured. The film also ended openly. We don't know if the two characters reconnect again and leaves us with the bittersweet uncertainty of life.
What I took away from the film was this longing to capture bittersweet moments in time, the slices of wonder and awe and longing that we've all experienced. Moments don't have to be grand, epic, action-packed or dire to be special. Before Sunrise was where I learned that the small, ordinary moments are often the most profound. A lot of my work is confined to a specific timeframe and focuses on dynamics that could only happen in a certain place and time.
Categories
Add categories here