As part of me celebrating reaching half way to 90 years old this week, we went to Le Pure Cafe in Paris for lunch, something I’ve wanted to do for years since seeing Richard Linklater’s film Before Sunset (2004). This film series is special to me, not only as wonderful pieces of cinema but I also wrote a chunk of my Master’s film studies thesis about them in relation to Deleuzian concepts of cinema, time, and philosophical time travel. I was immersed in these films and they will always mean an awful lot to me, and still agree with a Robin Wood article I read once that a brief scene in a record shop in Before Sunrise (1995) is one of the most beautifully perfect romantic and poetic pieces of cinema – a scene which has no dialogue but clearly denotes the moment when this couple truly fall in love. Before Midnight (2013) had not been made yet, and is the hardest of the trilogy to watch because of its authentic character development and expression of tensions in long term relationships. I think the trilogy is a gorgeous example of romantic drama, character study and screenwriting, Sunset is perhaps my favourite because of it’s nearness to an urgent real-time conversation whilst wandering the streets of Paris and the way various emotional beats and characterisations are woven into the screenplay (for which it was thusly Oscar-nominated). In short: I was very nerdily excited to luncheon here with Paul Dorrington, who is my Jesse, even if it has changed a bit and the weather was a bit too hot.
missytassles 