Before Sunrise

The thoughts I have about this film are completely scattered throughout my mind. The simple fact of an intimate conversation—which is the guiding thread of the story itself—means that every single word exchanged in this film is born and shaped from the deepest, most carefully guarded place in the hearts of its protagonists. The theme that runs through most of the movie is the true impossibility of creating a real bond with another person: a moment in which both truly listen to each other and understand one another. A moment in which they fully see the other person—their thoughts, their flaws, their strengths—and respect them as if they belonged to another person, even their thoughts themselves. A true connection, even if it were only for one night, a night before dawn. The film is developed almost entirely through dialogue, and this is very important because, beyond getting to know each other in this way and falling in love through it, it shows a peaceful yet intense creation of that seemingly impossible bond—one that both characters were convinced was completely impossible to create, or even to exist. The point I highlight to support this idea occurs near the end of the film, when both are lying in a park just hours before morning, in one way or another waiting for the dreaded sunrise, and (this is very important) they refuse to have sex. This matters because, beyond showing the possibility of loving someone beyond pleasure and physical desire, it is a decisive moment that culminates in the formation of the bond that began the moment they met. The dialogue goes deeper. Because while they exchange ideas with one another, they are also sharing themselves. Their thoughts begin to live in the other’s mind, and with them, a piece of each person. Because that is something that cannot be taken away—the thought, that fragment of the other will always live inside one’s head. A selfless and affectionate connection is formed, one that does not seek to understand the thought so much as to preserve it, to admire it like a painting in a gallery. By rejecting instinct and physical desire, they embrace the other’s essence genuinely and without reproach. They do not judge each other; even their arguments become a way of relating with warmth and familiarity. The truth is that something as simple as walking through an unfamiliar city, reading poems, riding a train. Understanding. Understanding is what truly makes life beautiful. And that is what this film makes me feel and think. A profound reflection on human relationships and a chimera for many, a truly happy place. I needed it.