BEFORE SUNRISE is no less than a fleeting melodrama in which two souls connect on a given occasion. More possibly, I’d like to regard it as a true love story, usually, we can’t measure the depth of love merely through the caliber of how long we’ve known each other. What justifies the likelihood of love and permanence of relationship is not time but the connection of mutual soul, isn’t it?
I appreciate the female character Selene in this story, she is a daring girl with a great number of innovative thoughts and richly feminine ideals. She is 23 in this romance. Me too. I admire such a girl, eloquent, sure of herself in pursuing her ideal without a waver, believing in long-term relationship, reserved but open-minded.
Just take a few scenes and lines to get involved in their emotional world.
Scene I
Selene: supposedly, men lose the ability to hear higher-pitched sounds, and women eventually lose hearing in the low end. I guess they sort of nullify each other, or something.
Jesse: I guess. Nature's way of allowing couples to grow old together without killing each other.
Scene II
Selene: Wait, wait. All those mundane, boring things everybody has to do everyday of their fucking life? (oh, whoops)
Jesse: I was going to say the poetry of day to day life, but,[Selene starts laughing] you know, you say the way you say it, I'll say it the way I say it... Well, alright, think about it like this. Why is it, that a dog, y'know, sleeping in the sun, is so beautiful, y'know, it is, its beautiful, y'know, but a guy, standing at a bank machine, trying to take some money out, looks like a complete moron?
Scene III
Selene: You know my parents have never really spoken of the possibility of my falling in love, or getting married, or having children. Even as a little girl, they wanted me to think of a future career, as a, you know, as a interior designer, or a lawyer, or something like that. I'd say to my dad, 'I want to be a writer.' and he'd say journalist. I'd say I wanted to have a refuge for stray cats, and he'd say veterinarian. I'd say I wanted to be an actress, and he'd say TV newscaster. It was this constant conversion of my fanciful ambition into these practical, money-making ventures.
Jesse: Hmm. I always had a pretty good bullshit detector when I was a kid, y'know. I always knew when they were lying to me, y'know. By the time I was in high school, I was dead set on listening to what everybody thought I should be doing with my life, and just kind of doing just the opposite.
Scene IV:
Jesse: Alright, alright. Think of it like this. Um, uh, jump ahead, ten, twenty years, okay, and you're married. Only your marriage doesn't have that same energy that it used to have, y'know. You start to blame your husband. You start to think about all those guys you've met in your life, and what might have happened if you'd picked up with one of them, right? Well, I'm one of those guys. That's me. y'know, so think of this as time travel, from then, to now, uh, to find out what you're missing out on. See, what this really could be is a gigantic favour to both you and your future husband, to find out that you're not missing out on anything. I'm just as big a loser as he is, totally .(Jesse tried to convince Selene to get off the train and have him company.)
Scene V:
Selene: I hate that the medias, you know, they are trying to control our minds. Yeah, the media. You know its very subtle, but you know, its a new form of fascism unmotivated, totally boring, and, uh, you made the right choice, and you're really happy.
Scene VI:
Selene: No, no, no, wait a minute. Talking seriously here. I mean, .. I, I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making... making it look my... my whole life is revolving around some guy. But Loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff. But isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?
Scene VII:
Jesse: I think I'd rather die knowing that I was really good at something, that I had excelled in some way, y'know, then that I had just been in a nice, caring relationship.
Selene: If there's any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something [sigh]. I know, its almost impossible to succeed, but... who cares, really? The answer must be in the attempt.
Scene VIII:
Selene: He must be thinking I'm this manipulative, mean woman. I just hope he doesn't feel that way about me, because you know me, I'm the most harmless person. The only person I could really hurt is myself.
Scene VIIII:
Selene: So often in my life I've been with people, and shared beautiful moments like travelling, or staying up all night and watching the sunrise, and I knew those were special moments. But something was always wrong. I wished I'd been with someone else. [They both laugh] I knew that what I was feeling, exactly what was so important to me, they didn't understand. But I'm happy to be with you. You couldn't possibly know why a night like this is so important to my life right now, but it is. This is a great morning.
Scene X:
Selene: When you talked earlier about after a few years, how a couple begin to hate each other, by anticipating their reactions, or getting tired of their mannerisms. I think it would be the opposite for me. I think I could really fall in love when I know everything about someone. The way he's gonna part his hair. Which shirt he's gonna wear that day. Knowing the exact story he'd tell in a given situation. I'm sure that's when I'd know I'm really in love.
……..
Tags: Before sunrise