To continue on from my previous thread over here, I saw this yesterday, and the recurring thought I kept having while I was watching it is..... please God, let me never become THIS old! (though I'm not far away from the age of the characters in the movie).

Heh, I always complain (in my head) that Hollywood output is aimed primarily at teenagers, and there's nothing for ME to watch, and now this comes along, and - this is the reaction I have!

Anybody else see it?

Yes, it was good. Realistic view of relationship, hope I'm NEVER in something that torturous. But I had problems with the gender portrayals. The woman was far too histrionic, creating drama, manipulating. The guy got to be all cool and levelheaded. THAT PART BUGGED ME.

Before Sunrise... ahh now that's a good film.

I don't see what age has to do with it. Maybe it's the grim view of a relationship evolved. I'd like to think there are other models and we can get even younger, as Bob Dylan would say.

heartbeatocean said:

I don't see what age has to do with it.

I just preferred it when the whole thing was all about Romance.

The intrusion of the Real World, I DON'T like. As Avril Lavigne said, "Here's to never growing up"......

I haven't seen it yet...but everytime it pops up on my On-Demand, I am tempted to rent it.



I actually want to watch the first two movies again, in order, before watching the third.

heartbeatocean said:

Yes, it was good. Realistic view of relationship

I had problems with the gender portrayals. The woman was far too histrionic, creating drama, manipulating. The guy got to be all cool and levelheaded.

Well, he wasn't exactly an angel (e.g. it was made clear he'd cheated on her). And it's not like they said "ALL WOMEN ARE LIKE THIS!!!".

Are women sometimes like this? Yes. Are men sometimes like this? Yes. In this movie, the woman was like this.

Before Sunrise... ahh now that's a good film.

I thought it was somewhat of a fairy tale. And I didn't care for how they presented the issue of him cheating on his wife as no big thang.

domainator2010 said:

The intrusion of the Real World, I DON'T like.

See, to me, this is a worrying statement.

heartbeatocean said:

Before Sunrise... ahh now that's a good film.

Before Sunrise was the movie in the trilogy I liked the least. Ethan Hawke's character was too full of himself. He was more humbled and likable in Before Sunset.

Before Midnight is my favorite precisely because it's grim. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy.

Ace said:

heartbeatocean said:

Yes, it was good. Realistic view of relationship

Well, he wasn't exactly an angel (e.g. it was made clear he'd cheated on her). And it's not like they said "ALL WOMEN ARE LIKE THIS!!!".

Are women sometimes like this? Yes. Are men sometimes like this? Yes. In this movie, the woman was like this.

Before Sunrise... ahh now that's a good film.

I thought it was somewhat of a fairy tale. And I didn't care for how they presented the issue of him cheating on his wife as no big thang.

Whoops! Was thinking of Before Sunset!

Ace said:

Ace said:

I thought it was somewhat of a fairy tale. And I didn't care for how they presented the issue of him cheating on his wife as no big thang.

Whoops! Was thinking of Before Sunset!

Sorry, just now coming back to the conversation.

OOPS, I was thinking of Before Sunset. I never saw Before Sunrise. This is getting confusing. I saw Before Sunset first and was sort of taken by the whole thing. Acting was great, loved the verite style. Yes, it was kind of a fairy tale, maybe that's what I liked about it. But it also had complications in that he was married. But did he actually cheat? It seems like in the Before Sunset, they were only hanging out. Then between Sunset and Midnight, he decided to leave his wife?

Very interesting this idea of realistic relationship vs. fairytale. (all happening in the same relationship arc through time) Though I found Before Midnight grueling and offputting, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that they were so deep into each other despite all the conflicts.

Yes, the characters were specific enough that it was not just a generalized gender portrayal. But still, it made me really uncomfortable. Her character was interesting because it seemed driven by guilt and privilege. The Ethan Hawke character left his son and flew around the world to accomodate her. But that made him a kind of angel too.

He was the good guy -- they made it pretty clear his former wife was an impossible drunk. He likes high maintenance women, apparently. I didn't get the cheating part, when did he cheat? Maybe I'm forgetting.

More than cheating though, I found it a questionable that he moved so far away from his kid when the mom was an alcoholic. So in that sense, it brought out human flaw and the intrusion of realism into the fairytale. His powers to be a great dad were limited.

Ace said:

domainator2010 said:

The intrusion of the Real World, I DON'T like.

See, to me, this is a worrying statement.

Well there are PLENTY enough movies to satisfy romantic fantasies. I'm giving this one props for being REAL (complicated, you can't have everything in life, there are big tradeoffs). Can't wait until the next installment!

heartbeatocean said:

Ace said:

Whoops! Was thinking of Before Sunset!

Sorry, just now coming back to the conversation.

OOPS, I was thinking of Before Sunset. I never saw Before Sunrise. This is getting confusing. I saw Before Sunset first and was sort of taken by the whole thing. Acting was great, loved the verite style. Yes, it was kind of a fairy tale, maybe that's what I liked about it. But it also had complications in that he was married. But did he actually cheat? It seems like in the Before Sunset, they were only hanging out. Then between Sunset and Midnight, he decided to leave his wife?

You really must see Before Sunrise. IMO, it's the best of the three...more innocent and hopeful...and really sets the stage for the latter two.

Uhope said:

heartbeatocean said:

Sorry, just now coming back to the conversation.

OOPS, I was thinking of Before Sunset. I never saw Before Sunrise. This is getting confusing. I saw Before Sunset first and was sort of taken by the whole thing. Acting was great, loved the verite style. Yes, it was kind of a fairy tale, maybe that's what I liked about it. But it also had complications in that he was married. But did he actually cheat? It seems like in the Before Sunset, they were only hanging out. Then between Sunset and Midnight, he decided to leave his wife?

You really must see Before Sunrise. IMO, it's the best of the three...more innocent and hopeful...and really sets the stage for the latter two.

I know! I want to and been meaning to. Putting on my list now.

sexton said:

heartbeatocean said:

Before Sunrise... ahh now that's a good film.

Before Sunrise was the movie in the trilogy I liked the least. Ethan Hawke's character was too full of himself. He was more humbled and likable in Before Sunset.

Before Midnight is my favorite precisely because it's grim. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy.

Don't you think Ethan Hawke's character being too full of himself is kind of a comment on the typical American male? I liked the whole USA - France dynamic to all three films.

heartbeatocean said:

did he actually cheat?

Yes.

heartbeatocean said:

He was the good guy -- they made it pretty clear his former wife was an impossible drunk. He likes high maintenance women, apparently. I didn't get the cheating part, when did he cheat? Maybe I'm forgetting.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Not sure if you're referring to Before Midnight or Before Sunset. In the former, it's clear that he's cheated with some fan who had written to him; in the latter, he fucks the Celine character while his wife's waiting at home.

[Edited 12/15/13 10:14am]

sexton said:

Before Midnight is my favorite precisely because it's grim.

Agree. It's realistic.

Ace said:

heartbeatocean said:

He was the good guy -- they made it pretty clear his former wife was an impossible drunk. He likes high maintenance women, apparently. I didn't get the cheating part, when did he cheat? Maybe I'm forgetting.

Not sure if you're referring to Before Midnight or Before Sunset. In the former, it's clear that he's cheated with some fan who had written to him; in the latter, he fucks the Celine character while his wife's waiting at home.

[Edited 12/14/13 14:16pm]

Either one. I don't remember the cheating parts. I saw Before Sunset a long time ago so it's faded in my mind a bit. I guess I just didn't pick up on that part of it. Was mostly focused on the chemistry between the two I suppose.

[Edited 12/14/13 21:46pm]

Ace said:

sexton said:

Before Midnight is my favorite precisely because it's grim.

Agree. It's realistic.

If grim = realism, then you guys are making me feel a lot better about my own life.

heartbeatocean said:

If grim = realism

It usually does.

McJagger said:

sexton said:

Before Sunrise was the movie in the trilogy I liked the least. Ethan Hawke's character was too full of himself. He was more humbled and likable in Before Sunset.

Before Midnight is my favorite precisely because it's grim. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy.

Don't you think Ethan Hawke's character being too full of himself is kind of a comment on the typical American male? I liked the whole USA - France dynamic to all three films.

Stereotypical American male, yes. I didn't see the characters as spokespeople for their respective nations, even though that description may be appropriate. The USA/France disparity is much more overt to me in Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris and 2 Days in New York films.

heartbeatocean said:

Ace said:

Agree. It's realistic.

If grim = realism, then you guys are making me feel a lot better about my own life.

I watched my first neorealism film the other day (Bicycle Thieves) and it was quite grim.

sexton said:

heartbeatocean said:

If grim = realism, then you guys are making me feel a lot better about my own life.

I watched my first neorealism film the other day (Bicycle Thieves) and it was quite grim.

A quick google tells me this is an alternate title for The Bicycle Thief? What is "neorealism"?

I've not seen any of these movies. Going to have to check them out over the holidays.

[Edited 12/19/13 5:35am]

Ace said:

sexton said:

I watched my first neorealism film the other day (Bicycle Thieves) and it was quite grim.

A quick google tells me this is an alternate title for The Bicycle Thief? What is "neorealism"?

I honestly didn't know anything about the term before watching the movie, but a quick online search reveals it is usually in reference to Italian films about the struggle of the working class after World War II.