The Before Trilogy
TLDR: As a whole, and in each of its separate parts, Richard Linklater's 'Before Trilogy' is the cinematic experience in its absolute finest form. The story of Celine and Jesse speaks to the core of the human experience - surprising joys, inevitable obstacles and eventual pains, and, most importantly, the mystery and intrigue of love - and it does it in an affecting way that, almost unlike any other film, is simultaneously theatrical and also remarkably raw and realistic.
"It's just, people have these romantic projections they put on everything. That's not based on any kind of reality." - Jesse, Before Sunrise
Even more than the multitudes of other incredible introspective bits of wisdom and philosophy that Celine and Jesse converse in across the three movies, this quote perhaps sums up the trilogy best of all. What are romance movies other than certain individuals' projections of what romance - often, idealized romance - is. Most of the time romance stories are hyperbolized: they are comical or serendipitous, they are dramatic or tragic, or they are cheesy or unrealistic. That is not to say that any of these versions are wrong or bad. They are usually just not a realistic depiction of romance in our 'real world'. That is where Linklater's Before Trilogy comes in...
Beginning in 1994, Before Sunrise tells the story of a young man and a young woman who find themselves seated across one another on board a train travelling across the European countryside. They take advantage of the happenstance encounter predicated upon an attraction and begin a conversation. There is an energy and a magnetism between the two of them. It is the kind that defines the young adult - a lust for life and willingness to take risks that often dissipates as the years go on. On a whim, Celine and Jesse decide to spend the day together in Vienna. As they continue their exploratory dialogue - about everything from love and conflict, to whether magic still exists in the world - they traverse the ancient and beautiful streets of the city. As you can predict, a romance forms between the two of them. But it is a romance grounded in the character of each of them and the words and experience they share with one another over the short period of time. This romance is not founded upon plot contrivances like so many other stories. We are meeting and discovering these two characters at the exact same time that they are and from the same actions and words that they experience from the other. The development of this romance is one that demands an audience. Its raw realism in how the two speak, how they gaze at each other when the other is looking the other way, is breathtaking and wholly unique. I will not go into spoilers with how the film ends, however, suffice it to say that this is only the first of three films.
For those that know Richard Linklater, you know that he has a fascination with the portrayal and use of time within cinema. His Before Trilogy (along with Boyhood) is a testament to this. The Before sequels take place (cinematically and in the real world) nine years after each predecessor. Each sequel picks up Jesse and Celine's lives nine years after we last saw them. It is utterly remarkable how well the films depict the realistic aging of the two characters - the gradual change of their world views along with the practical changes in each of their lives. The evolution of this type of romance across 'real' decades has never been seen in any other film. It is a love and story that transcends the medium, and this is because of the immensely strong and genuine story that Linklater, Hawke and Delpy impart on these characters. Like in real life, nothing comes easily and that is true even for 'true love'.
I know that nothing has really been said yet about Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who, by the end of the trilogy, are not as much playing these characters but simply are Jesse and Celine. At many times, these films feel more like a documentary than a fictional story and that is all attributable to the majesty of Hawke and Delpy's performances. On both an artistic and technical level (certain dialogue-heavy scenes run for close to ten minutes without cuts) the two are utterly exceptional and demand viewership.
As you can gather from this write-up, I absolutely implore you to watch Linklater's Before Trilogy if you have yet to do so. It is not often that I tout films like this, but once you have experienced them you will know why I have done so. One can write many, many words on the greatness of these films, however, the best way to appreciate them is to experience them - for the first time, for the third, or for the tenth. Unlike so many other films, the Before Trilogy are films you truly experience - and it is an experience everyone should take a few hours for.
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