Two strangers meet on a train. They talk about silly things and serious things. They get off the train together and walk through the streets of Vienna telling each other secrets disguised as anecdotes and thoughtless conversation. When the morning comes, they leave each other promising to reunite.
Nine years later, the couple meet in Paris. Time has changed things, given them new opportunities from the time that they were college students. But they're still similar. The same people with perspective now. Experience, I guess. You can feel the passage of time in their voices, their mannerisms.
Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset is a perfect illustration of the passage of time. What better way to show how time molds you in different ways, but keeps you inherently the same? Circumstances change, status, economy, residency. Regrets may even pile up or adversities bring you down. But even the reminder of who you were can help bring a realization of who you still are.
What's so great about these two movies is that it's shot in (somewhat) real time. The conversations happen at a languid pace where scenes can occur organically within the time frame.
I often wonder what being a grown up will feel like. Moving away from home, graduating college, turning 21, getting married. None of those things made me feel much different. My approach to things have sometimes changed. I suppose I'm learning. Slowly. Still, it's equally comforting and discouraging that I'll always feel things in a certain way even if my reactions are different. I guess for now I'm okay with that.
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