A film for us who like to listen to people talking on a train

I’ve never understood the idea of silent compartments on trains. Isn’t that the most boring of places? People there are missing one of the points of travelling: to overhear other people’s conversations.

Most people say that they hate that. I’m just the opposite. I love it. Sometimes it beats going to the movies. If you only care to listen, there are some excellent pieces of drama played up right there, in front of you. It’s an exclusive performance – played only one time, with the smallest of audiences. Speaking of exclusivity!

I would go as far as to say that I even enjoy listening to phone conversations, which others generally seem to hate. I think they tickle my imagination.

When you only hear half of what’s said, you can work on your skills as a screenwriter filling out the rest. What I like most of all is how cell phones seem to have this magical impact on people’s normal sense of privacy and integrity. All of a sudden nothing is too private or sensitive to share with an audience. For someone who is hopelessly curious about the lives of other people, especially the ones of complete strangers, it’s a treat.

Equally I’ve never understood why there’s so much hating on movies with a lot of talking.

If I get it right, the general idea is that it’s better to show than to tell. The audience is supposed take in the atmosphere and study the faces and body language of the people on the screen, reading their minds rather than listening to their lines. The less people say the better. Cinematography > words, appears to be the general consensus.

But for me it’s the same thing as with the train compartments. I don’t mind listening to long conversations in a movie. On the contrary: I absolutely love it. At least as long as the writing is good, as it is in Before Sunrise, which I finally got around to see the other day.

Recommended
Over and over again has this film been brought to my attention by regular blog guests. People whose judgment I trust on urged me to watch it since they knew I would like it. Finally I ran out of excuses about not having access to it when it turned out that I could buy it online for just a handful of dollars. So I watched it and it turned out that they were completely right, as so many times before.

The story in this film is simple: boy meets girl. Two strangers start to talk on a train and hook up for one night in Vienna. They fall in love, briefly, despite, or perhaps because of the fact that they might never meet again. The next day they’ll continue on their temporary interrupted journeys, heading in different directions, geographically and in their lives. This is the one and only night they’ll ever get. So they talk and talk and talk and stroll in romantic settings and kiss their way through the night until it’s time to say goodbye.

It is simple, but a movie doesn’t necessarily improve with complexity.

And of course I loved to see this couple falling in love, with equal measures of bitterness and sweetness. I loved to hear them talking about life, the universe and everything. I loved how natural and young and unspoiled they appeared, mercilessly reminding me of how middle-aged and jaded I am. For good and for bad.

It reminded me a little bit of Lost in Translation in the way it captured the magic of travelling: the accidental meetings, the sense of being on the way to a yet-to-be-determined future and the glimpses of self discovery.

Allowing some time
If I ever was to make a top ten list over my favorite romance movies I’m pretty certain that Before Sunrise would stand a good chance to appear on it.

I’ve been told that the sequel, Before Sunset, is even better and I can’t wait to find out this is true. I suspect it might resonate even more with me since the characters have grown a bit older and closer to me in age and life experiences.

But before proceeding I’ll give Before Sunrise some time to mature and sink in. The people who watched it as it came out had nine years to digest it. I should at least spend a few days with it lingering in my mind before diving into the next piece of conversation.

Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, US, 1995) My rating: 5/5