http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obuV1KrvEYo

Sung by Julie Delpy in the movie Before Sunset.

Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts
Let me sing you a waltz
About this one night stand

You were for me that night
Everything I always dreamt of in life
But now you’re gone
You are far gone
All the way to your island of rain
It was for you just a one night thing
But you were much more to me
Just so you know

I hear rumors about you
About all the bad things you do
But when we were together alone
You didn’t seem like a player at all

I don’t care what they say
I know what you meant for me that day
I just wanted another try
I just wanted another night
Even if it doesn’t seem quite right
You meant for me much more
Than anyone I’ve met before

One single night with you little Jesse
Is worth a thousand with anybody

I have no bitterness, my sweet
I’ll never forget this one night thing
Even tomorrow, another arms

My heart will stay yours until I die
Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my blues
Let me sing you a waltz
About this lovely one night stand

Essa cena diz tudo:

É… vai uma valsa aí?

Antes do Amanhecer já foi indicado a Melhor Diálogo e a continuação poderia ganhar também:

- Memory is a wonderful thing if you don’t have to deal with the past. (…) You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.

Não?

So fellas, I’ve been Missing In Action (MIA) for a good 4 months? I’m not sure, who’s counting anyway.

You probably don’t want me to bore you with mundane little details of my life explaining for the absolute thorough neglect of this little blog of mine.

So I was away…to the opposite side of the world and took 2 months off and I am now back to my sunny island city-state, where I am not only jobless and broke, but also sad that I have to leave a part of me there. But we all know that all good things come to an end.

Now, I’ve just watched 2 movies: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. And really liked that little waltz that Julie Delpy sang in Before Sunset. For those who know me personally, would probably already have guessed that I bawled my eyes out.

After some sort of media monitoring online about the movies, most people prefer Before Sunset because it resonates the haplessness that we feel in life sometimes. And most are undecided about Before Sunrise. But I liked it, I loved both movies but Before Sunrise provided the perfect setting to Before Sunset. It was almost amateur, and almost unreal and idealistic to depict two persons falling in love and meant what they promised and said to each other after a mere one night. Before Sunset is proof that it does happen and exists. It’s a flawed story line simply because it’s not perfect. And I liked that it’s not perfect.

This song performed by Julie Delpy deserves a post, I think she has a really nice, unassuming voice and it was a very heartfelt “performance” – I only put performance because I didn’t know what else to call it.

Simple, unpretentious lyrics. That’s how all songs should be, don’t you think?

Because of all the people that I’ve met on my trip, I’ll never be the same again. And someone once said, we all are the sum of our moments in life. So make every moment count.

….and it starts tomorrow look out for my next post! Enjoy the little waltz.

How would you describe a city like Paris? Do you automatically think of a Robert Doisneau image of two lover kissing in front of the Hotel de Ville or is the Eiffel Tower lit up at night inscribed in your memory?  Paris is undoubtedly magical, but the beyond the confines of the tourist trails is one of the most multi-cultural, artistic and unconventional capitals in Europe.

The Paris Ile-de-France Comite Regionale du Tourisme has just launched a short viral film to promote the young and vibrant side of the city that many visitors end up missing.

The three and a half minute film entitled Kisses From Paris is directed by French actor/director Yvan Attal (who is also Charlotte Gainsbourg’s partner) and is sound tracked by Rufus Wainwright’s atmospheric Leaving For Paris.   The Paris tourist board loved his sketch in New York, I Love You so much that they commissioned Yvan to express his own creative vision of the “New Paris Ile-de-France”.

The film features two young lovers, played by Zoé Schellenberg and Pierre Perrier snogging their way through Paris, stopping only to marvel at the amazing sights around them.  In between declaring how much they adore each other, the couple study the art at the Beaubourg and the Palais de Tokyo, stroll along the Canal Saint-Martin, go to a gig at the Chateau de Vincenne and hunt for vintage treasures at the Saint Ouen flea market.

The film is intense, stylish and dreamy but in a more realistic than whimsical way. It reminds me of Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset (shot in Paris), where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train and get to know each other in a day before going their separate ways, then meeting up in Paris nine years on.

Kisses From Paris does nothing to dispel the myth of Paris as a city for lovers and not all of us have a Louis Garrel look-a-like to kiss all over town, but it offers a new, alternative Paris to fall in love with.

To find out more about ‘le nouveau Paris’ and to win a trip to Paris, visit the website.

I don’t want to complain but the headache is really terrible making me feel blank all the time while I’m in need of a sober brain to settle all this messy travel arrangements. haizz, I know from the start I’m not destined to have anything settled long before the last minute despite hw much I’ve tried. Fine. As usual, one by one, they’ll all be fine. Divide and Conquer!

But I remember some days ago when things seemed to be settled, I felt uneasy as well because I knew something would happen soon and stir me all up. I’m always right

The streets in Adelaide have started to be decorated with Christmas theme already and I find the theme colour absolutely weird with this 39 Celcius Degree heat. What to blame? Red and Green are supposed to make you feel warm, which is abundent here. However, if Australia is already weird in many aspects, why don’t they be different in celebrating Christmas as well? Red and Green just don’t suit here…

Two more weeks to go and I have many things left in Adelaide I want to do but the weather totally freaked me out. I’m gonna have to say goodbyes to my Harp soon and I’m working on Canon in  D. Hope I can play it smoothly by then.

Suddenly I want to go to India to do internship next term. I still don’t want to come back to Singapore with that life… I wanna run, run, and run although how even more insecured I’ll feel. But it makes me feel alive.

Yesterday I watched Before Sunset and the script surprised me from the start to the very end. The lead actress thinking and pain are just so…so right and I can feel her. Of course, I feel her. Ah, she said this thing which I thought really awesome: Memory is a good thing if you don’t have to deal with the past

“I believe if there’s any kind of God it wouldn’t be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there’s any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it’s almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.”

Before Sunrise was written and filmed in Vienna in 1995. Nine years later, both characters (and the original director) return and film the sequel Before Sunset in Paris. Two of my favorite films.

São 05 PM. Acabei de comer um sanduíche hipercalórico, mas meus braços já não estão inchados devido os exercícios da academia. Cada coisa que fazemos durante o dia nos remete novas percepções e outras sensações. Mas hoje não, pelo menos não comigo.

Depois de ver Before Sunrise e Before Sunset ontem parece que todos meus sentidos foram anulados. Sei que aquela bomba caiu no estômago, minha pele dilatou e minha face amassou, mas pra mim isso não fez a menor diferença. Longas dez horas na cama, acordei quase na hora do almoço e poderia certificar que Celine tirou aquelas palavras da minha vida:

“Levou algum tempo para eu entender por que eu tinha mudado. Um dia, eu passei por um cemitério judeu. Não sei por que percebi, enquanto estava lá… que eu estava sem fazer o que costumava havia duas semanas. A TV transmitia uma língua que eu não entendia. Não havia nada para comprar. Não havia propaganda. Então, passei meu tempo caminhando… pensando e escrevendo. Meu cérebro estava descansado… livre da agitação frenética. Era como se estivesse entorpecida. Eu sentia calma interior. Não queria estar em outro lugar. Primeiro, foi um tédio, mas acabou enaltecendo minha alma.”

Quando acordei, estava ertorpecido, desde aquela incrível reação de quando eu vi o primeiro filme. Uma idéia quase intacta, quase nova. Caía fundo quando eu olhava, parecia tanto com nós mesmos! Fiquei ali, parado, olhando pra todas as pessoas ao redor, tudo suspenso numa outra atmosfera. Penso que Lost In Translation que vi durante a semana contribuiu pra esse estado profundo de percepção humana. Tenho provas, trabalhos, horários… nada disso importa. Tou bem demais pra me arriscar a perder tudo. Acho que eu ganhei um novo coração hoje.

Não é todo mundo que enxerga a vida assim, vou curtir um pouco

My Dinner with Andre (1981)
★★★ / ★★★★

Written by and starring real-life friends Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory essentially star as themselves in “My Dinner with Andre.” Wallace/Wally agreed to meet up with his old friend for dinner and admitted to the audiences that he had not seen his friend in years. The whole film took place in a real-time conversation over dinner between the two actors as they discussed practical and philosophical questions. While both of them were able to offer very insightful questions and commentaries throughout, I had a big problem during the picture’s first thirty minutes. Andre pretty much talked non-stop for several minutes without Wally uttering more than two sentences. I thought that the premise of the film was about two friends who were at an equal intellectual level but very different outlook on life. However, the first thirty minutes did not reflect that. Instead, I intially felt as though Andre was the wiser of the two and Wally was a child getting an education from an elder who has been all over the world. Eventually, however, Wally was given the chance to speak and it was refreshing because even though he did not sound as formal or worldly (or pretentious?) as Andre, I found myself agreeing with a lot of the points he brought up because he expressed his thoughts in simple and frank manner. I thought the film reached its peak when the two stopped agreeing with each other and began expressing how differently they viewed the world. In a nutshell, Wally did not believe in fate and that things were simply an accumulation of random coincidences. Andre, on the other hand, believed in fate and that having a purpose was not always necessary because purpose almost always equated to habit and habit was the lack of awareness and therefore a lack of “real” living. They were able to tell each other a plethora of stories that covered the two basic themes and it was fascinating to sit through. This movie made me think of how many friends I could converse with in a similar level and even I have to admit that there are not a lot of them. Younger viewers and people who are not that into plays may not understand the references that the characters have made (it would probably help for a deeper understanding) but it was still an enjoyable rumination about the beauty and ugliness of life. I could certainly connect with both of the characters so I did not at all find it difficult to keep paying attention with the words and the little nuances in their voices. This is an art-house film, which may mean it is not for everyone, because it “only” consists of two people talking to each other like in “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” (which was definitely influenced by this picture). That said, “My Dinner with Andre” is highly rewarding.

“I want to see if you stay together or if you dissolve into molecules…”

Waking Life (2001)
★★★ / ★★★★

Written and directed by Richard Linklater (“Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset”), “Waking Life” is an animated film that tackles deep questions about what life is and how it is like to live one’s life. Although it is essentially an animated film, it is very adult in its approach to tell a story of a guy (Wiley Wiggins) who “wakes up” in his dream and into other dreams without knowing whether he’s conscious or awake in “real life.” I admired that this film actively does not confine itself into the kind of Hollywood filmmaking where there is a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Just like the look of the picture, the story flows and moves like water, which enhances the film’s overall craft because the issues that it tackles are very abstract. And it also helped because the main character is in a dream. I particularly liked the scene when Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters from “Before Sunrise” and had a deeper conversation about what was said in that movie. It really made me think about why, when we dream, time feels endless but in actuality we’ve slept for a very limited amount of time. That constant theme of there having to be something more to life than rules and meaning is explored in such a deep and intellectual way to the point where I found myself struggling to keep up because I wanted to savor the conversations. While I admit that I did not fully understand some of the concepts that they discussed and the names they dropped, it made me want to read up on such topics and people that are unfamiliar. This is a thinking man’s movie and definitely not for people who constantly have to have action scenes thrown at them. The power of this unique-looking film lies in the words and the exaggerated, almost expressionistic, images to highlight the transient meanings of the implications. My only main problem with it is that I felt as though part of the last third somewhat felt apart because it did not fully integrate some of the biggest themes that pervaded the rest of the movie. Still, I’m going to give “Waking Life” a recommendation because it was able to incite various insights on how to communicate and see (or feel?) the world in unfamiliar and not fully explained perspectives.

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvFosXeqmDg

If you haven’t seen Before Sunrise, please do. I am not saying this sequel won’t make sense if you haven’t, but trust me it will be so much more meaning ful. You see, Before Sunset is the follow-up to Before Sunrise- a great emotional movie that took place in 1995. I previously wrote about the first movie. I have seen it a lot of times and after watching Before Sunset again,I felt I had to write about it.

I will feel free to give spoilers, because what might seem like a spoiler for the first movie, is actually the obligatory introduction to the second.

In Before Sunrise, we met Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). These 20 somethings met on a train while French Celine was going back to her hometown and American Jesse was on his way to Vienna where he was supposed to catch a flight the next day to the States.
Soon after they started talking, they actually bonded. Yeah, they were having fun being around each other and obviously there was attraction but the bond was also obvious. Two stranger, making a perfect connection through a chance encounter. Jesse didn’t want to let go of this and asked Celine to get off the train with him. She did. And they had an amazing day, and its night in Vienna. The bond got deeper, attraction grew and they just didn’t want to let go. To see how genuine the movie,the characters and the story go, to feel the passion and the magic of their relationship, you have to see the movie. And feel free to check imdb. It has been rated by more than 34.000 people, and it has been rated as an 8/1o. My point is if so many people agreed on this, it means both men and women liked it. It means a lot of people with different movie tastes loved it. It can’t be labeled as a mainstream movie nor it exactly fits the independent spirit where a minority seems to get the message of. It means the viwevers felt the connection as well and this does not happen very often.

So when I heard director Richard Linklater had made a sequel, I rushed to see it. You see Before Sunrise leaves you wondering whether Celine and Jesse will meet again. Whether they will have the same connection or not. The second movie answers these questions for the two characters we loved so much.

Celine and Jesse had agreed to meet 6 months later as Before Sunrise came to an end. We sadly find out that they weren’t able to.Somehow life had gotten in the way. In those 9 years, Jesse has written a book that is about their encounter. He is now at the last stop of his book tour, in Paris. As he hopes that she would, she comes to his book signing.
When she does show-up, they decided to spend Jesse’s last hours in the city together. They are both happy to see each other. So much has happened and they are more than eager to catch up. But since they are older, they seem weary of life, the heart-breaks and disapponitments they have gone through. They realize the connection is still there 9 years later. But now, things seem harder than ever. Jesse is i unhappily married with a 4-year-old kid. Celine’s hear doesn’t seem to be in the relationship she is having. Both have to face their feelings and they realize that the best time, and the best romance they had was 9 years ago,with each other,in Vienna…

It is fun,romantic,sad,heart-breaking,emotional,hopeful…It just leaves you feeling with a combination of a variety of feelings. You feel alive. Once again, it is just so easy to find yourself in Jesse and Celine. And you just cross fingers that this time they will stay together.

Is it as magical as the second movie? It depends. They were younger ,more romantic and more hopeful. They mention this in the second movie. They have grown up.We, the audience,have grown up. We have had more disappointments,heart-breaks,more journeys…We might have become more realistic and/or cynical. But the true spirit of the movie-that genuine honesty-is still the core here. Of course the romantic fool in me wished that they had met after six months. I wish that they had gotten together,stayed together,remained in love…But they didn’t. Life happened and they let life take its toll on them; on their beliefs,way of thinking. But at the same time, they didn’t change all that much. As Celine mentions in the movie, we don’t really change that much. No matter what self-defense mechanisms we develop, our hopes and dreams stay the same. So being together again just feels so right for them. It seems together that 9 years have passed.

The movie has been written by Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Hence the actors have co-written the screenplay, it is even easier for them to become to be Jesse and Celine. As I said, if you have seen the first one, you owe it yourself to see this. If you haven’t seen it, than go and just find Before Sunrise. I am still looking for a movie that will make me feel the same way these two did.

Two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen

“In the moment, I remember thinking it didn’t much matter in the whole of it all, and that nobody’s going to be everything to you. And that ultimately it’s just the simple action of committing yourself and meeting your responsibilities that matters. I mean, what is love, right? Respect, trust, admiration…? I felt all those things. So, cut to the present tense, I feel like I’m running a small nursery with someone I used to date.”

i wonder: i used to think the first part, used to tell my friends — and myself — that all the time. i suppose it was ‘my idea of my best self’, overriding my ‘honest self’. i used to tell myself the first part was true. i used to believe it was true. Does that mean i’m doomed to the second?

I don’t remember when I first saw this movie, it was quite some years ago but I have seen it many times after that- yet it never gets old. It never ceases to be magical. It is sweet,romantic,fun and so real. Oh sure, it seems like the perfect fantasy: to meet this attractive,down-to-earth,fun and sincere stranger in a different country and get to spend some really great,uncomplicated fun with them. I do have some stories like that. I had some wonderful hours with a British guy ( a really cool 13-hour-date, only a couple of hours after the 4 hour non-stop chat the night before…Or I really had a blast with this Dutch guy I met in Norway. Nope- I am no way claiming that we had the connection of Jesse and Celine here. We weren’t really emotionally involved. Yet it was romantic,sexy and very enjoyable. So the idea of clicking with a stranger does not seem impossible. But I haven’t yet had that magical encounter depicted here…

Jesse is on a train to go to Vienna. He is a young American, played by Ethan Hawke. He meets this pretty and lovely French girl Celine ( Julie Delpy). They talk for hours and really enjoy each other’s company. So when it is time for Jesse to get off the train, he suggests that Celine goes off with him. He has one day to spend in the city before his flight to the States the next day. He cutely persuades Celine. After that Vienna serves as the background to one of my favorite love stories ever.

the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rN6D3PcYB4

The two young people talk about anything and everything. They get to know each other. They instinctively travel through Vienna. They are impulsive, natural and they don’t play games. There is no pretending. They only have one day together and they don’t mess it up. They kiss at sunset. They enjoy the city and each other. They laugh and fool around. They walk hand in hand. They observe the magnificent city…There is a bond forming slowly but powerfully between these two former strangers and you just wish- like them- that this was not supposed to be their only night together.

You have one city, two leading actors-three and flowing dialogs. It was written by Richard Linklater -who also directed the movie- and Kim Krizan. Hawke and Delpy have made one genuinely great couple. It is just one romantic film that doesn’t need funny events, misunderstandings,ridiculous characters. The time limit is the only obstacle. It really makes you want to get on a train and travel through Europe-with the hopes that something even remotely similar will happen to you. The thing that feels so real about the movie is that how Linklater and Karizan have expressed so many true fears, expectations,dreams and doubts we have in our daily lives. It feels like we know both Jesse and Celine. In fact, we could easily be those characters.

If you haven’t seen it, trust me you are missing a great journey. The journey is so amazing that we- the viewers- fell in love with Linklater as the sequel of the movie Before Sunset was made years later. Oh trust me, Before Sunsrise will be your first love. But it will leave you wanting so much more that you will be grateful for the second piece of magic, set in Paris…

Tive oportunidade de assistir a Antes do Por do Sol (Before Sunset) alguns anos atrás, mas preferi ver Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Provavelmente, naquela época, foi a escolha mais certa.

Desta vez, o plano era dormir cedo. Um filme que, eu sabia, tem diálogos muito extensos e tomadas muito longas seria um bom estímulo, pensei. [Já deixo claro que o poder de me fazer dormir nada tem a ver com a qualidade do filme.]

Comecei a ver e fui até o final. Muito bem escrito, filmado e editado. O roteiro começa com algo simples, um “Oi, tudo bem?”, e o diálogo vai se desdobrando naturalmente, mal percebi quando começou um assunto, terminou outro e voltou o primeiro. Os atores principais (Ethan Hawke e Julie Delpy) devem ter improvisado muito, porque penso ser impossível decorar todo aquele volume de falas.

No filme, eles revivem o casal de Antes do Amanhecer, que, depois de se encontrarem durante uma viagem, se envolvem, marcam um encontro em Viena para dali a seis meses, sem saber endereços, telefones e sobrenomes – apenas aquela promessa.

Antes do Por do Sol retoma esse princípio, mas define bem a sua própria identidade – tanto que eu nem vi Antes do Amanhecer ainda.

Felizmente, vi esse filme neste final de semana, não daquela vez.

Um dos raros casos de que o trailer não é tão bom como o filme

Poucas horas depois, uma prova de que o cinema alemão é um dos meus favoritos. Todos, 100%, sem exceção, que eu vi, gostei muito. Neste domingo, o número dobrou: isso mesmo, vi dois filmes alemães na vida.

O primeiro foi Adeus, Lênin, alguns anos atrás. Neste domingo, foi A Onda (Die Welle), que vi no HSBC Belas Artes, onde só havia estado uma única outra vez, para ver O Show de Truman.

Os primeiros 15 minutos de filmes foram bem estranhos porque não estou acostumado a ouvir o idioma nativo de Schumacher, Vettel, Klinsmann e Claudia Schiffer e Heidi Klum.

No filme, um professor de estudos sociais tem uma ideia para ensinar sua matéria (autocracia): aplicar conceitos do nazi-fascismo nas aulas. Progressivamente, os alunos vão fazendo e pensando coisas que vão sendo canalizadas para a construção de um mini-regime totalitário, ainda que a maioria não tenha noção exata do que isso significava. O filme é bem ágil, não haveria tempo para que cada personagem fosse desenvolvido. Algumas coisas acontecem rápido demais, mas não tem problema.

É bem parecido com Sociedade dos Poetas Mortos, mas com um ambiente e linguagem muito mais modernas. Inspirado em uma história real.

The Messenger: opening in theaters Nov. 23, 2009.
Directed by: Oren Moverman
Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Jena Malone

I am so glad that Ben Foster is honing his acting chops. After seeing him on the TV show and my personal favorite, Flash Forward, in 1996 I knew it would be not be the last I saw of him. Slowly he’s climbed that Hollywood ladder with X-Men: The Last Stand and 3:10 to Yuma. Now this dramatic film, written and directed by Oren Moverman, should be another stepping stone for Foster. Woody Harrelson also seems to pull out his inner thespian in this film.

Me and Orson Welles: opening in theaters Nov. 25, 2009.
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin, Claire Danes and Zac Efron

Curiosity made me pick this film. Not only am I curious as to how Christian McKay will portray one of my cinematic idols, Orson Welles, but I’m also intrigued by Zac Efron in this film. It should be fascinating to see him in a more grown-up film. Also, director Richard Linklater wrote and directed my two favorites, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. If anything, it should be cinematically compelling because Linklater is a great director.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: opening in theaters in limited release Dec. 25, 2009.
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Christopher Plummer

This is Heath Ledger’s last film. And he didn’t even finish it. Not only is the film’s premise slightly confusing, therefore intriguing, but how exactly will director Terry Gilliam (you may know him from a little group called Monty Python) explain four different actors playing the same role? That shall be a sight to see.

Memory is a wonderful thing if you don’t have to deal with the past.

I remember the first time I watched Before Sunset. I was about 19 years old and Sam and I were on holiday from university, sitting on his parents couch, eating Greco’s New York pizza and most likely drinking a bottle of cabernet.

The 19 year old me watched the movie fascinated by the interaction of two somewhat strangers and the ability of a film to almost perfect the image of human fragility through a seamless conversation filled with personal, political, and fantastical ideas as they walked through the streets of Paris.

Fast forward 5 years later to the me of today and I find that the film holds so much more meaning. The streets of Paris are no longer a dream, but something familiar. The neuroticism of Celine strikes a chord to the neuroses I find in my persona. The hesitant exchange between two once lovers makes me wonder where I’ll be in 9 years. With whom I might be walking with. Where I might be. Who I will be.

What I love most about this film is that it lacks gimmick. It’s easy to relate to the two people speaking on the screen, because I could imagine the same conversation occurring between myself and an old friend—perhaps minus the sexual tension.

If you’ve never had a chance to view it, please do. I don’t usually recommend many films, but this one is for the books.

_{* Side Note: Please don’t watch the trailer. The commentator, the music and the splicing of scenes turns an authentic film about human relationships into a cheesy, commercialized romantic drama—adjectives I would never use to describe a film such as this.}

_{Celine: Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.
Jesse: I know.}

Chi non ha mai fatto il classico gioco di provare a immaginare e ricostruire la vita, le emozioni, le vicende di una persona o di una coppia sconosciuti incontrati per caso in un locale o su un treno o ovunque, semplicemente osservandone l’aspetto e gli atteggiamenti.

Bene, a me quel giochetto capita di farlo anche con le locandine dei film, provando ad immaginarne la trama, e in base al gradimento della mia fantasia decidere così di andare al cinema a vedere un film sconosciuto.

E’ così che nel 1995 ho “incontrato” casualmente “Prima dell’alba“, un film che mi ha intensamente colpito e che oramai è parte del mio bagaglio emozionale, chissà, forse perché è un piccolo film generazionale sui giovani confusi e sognatori degli anni ‘90, quelli che giravano zaino in spalla per l’Europa con l’Interrail, ed io sono uno di quelli.

L’incontro con questo film è stato casuale in quanto la locandina mi aveva portato decisamente fuori strada, infatti avevo immaginato una storia d’amore epica e avventurosa attraverso le praterie americane in cui sul punto di morte di lei si giurano amore eterno.

E invece non c’entrava proprio nulla, infatti il film narra la storia di due giovani poco più che ventenni che si incontrano su un treno diretto a Parigi.
L’istintiva attrazione che nasce tra i due spinge Céline a scendere d’impulso con Jesse a Vienna: aspetteranno insieme la partenza del volo per gli States del ragazzo, prevista solo per la mattina successiva. Quasi 24 ore, 24 ore per conoscersi, scoprirsi, confrontarsi, sviscerando due anime, due visioni diverse della vita e del mondo, con una promessa finale …

La settimana appena trascorsa l’ho passata a casa nel letto con una bella bronchite e ho rivisto questo film e devo ammettere che le piacevoli malinconiche emozioni che riesce a trasmettermi questo film a distanza di anni sono invariate.

Già che c’ero non mi sono fatto mancare anche il seguito, sì perché nel 2004 è uscito “Prima del tramonto” in cui sono passati nove anni dal loro incontro a Vienna, Jesse è sposato e ha figli ed è diventato uno scrittore proprio raccontando la storia con Celine quella notte a Vienna. E quando ad una presentazione del libro a Parigi lei si fa avanti tra la folla, i due decidono di passare un’intera giornata per le strade della capitale francese.

Insomma, una bella storia romantica, con una malinconia tutta europea, con sullo sfondo due splendide città come Vienna e Parigi.

Ecco quindi i due trailer, sono in inglese ma si capisce l’atmosfera.

Oggi pomeriggio ho provato pure ad immaginare la mia colonna sonora ideale per questi film e certamente Daniel dei Bat for Lashes e I found you dei The Fray sono i brani che io sceglierei.

“…a memory is never finished, as long as you’re alive.”