Before Sunset

Before Sunset, the sequal to Before Sunrise, is the continuation of a conversation through which two people have fallen in love. Celine and Jessie are two strangers who met on a train and decided to spend some time together in Vienna before they had to depart. In their brief time together they found love. There was great passion and unbelievable desire for each other. Upon departure from each other, they decided to not give each other contact information and meet again six months later at the exact place from which they were leaving. Before Sunrise leaves you hanging onto your seats and waiting in anticipation, will they actually meet again? 

Before Sunset is nine years later. At this point, Jesse is married and has a son named Henry. He is a New York Best-Selling author who writes about a fictional love story about a very special moment in time. We learn later, that his hopes to writing this book and doing a book tour might give him and Celine a chance to meet again. Jessie's story was an idealized version of the night he had spent with Celine. When they did meet again, nine years later they both had a very different version of love. Jessie was unhappy, but would remain unhappy for the sake of his son. He never felt real love, but he felt he was fulfilling the necessary obligations that one had to deal with in life. Jessie never let go of his love for Celine, in fact, he lived it daily through his book and through dreams. 

On the other hand, Celine's idea of loved seemed very different from Jessie's and very cold. She preferred to have her boyfriend be away so that she could could still have her and independence, but still miss him. Later in the movie, she cracks and blames Jessie for the reason she can't love. 

In one discussion, Jessie said that "if you liberate yourself from desire then you will find that you already have what you need." What caught my attention as they were talking about desire is that Jessie said "need" to desire is to "want." As they talked with each other, Jessie said that we are "designed to be dissatisfied," as if we are meant to always want more; nothing is ever good enough. Although Celine believed that it was a sign of depression to think that way, I find it very true. I believe that we always want more. We want more in clothing, at work, more money, more time, better love; we are designed to want more, more, more! Why can't we seem to get a grasp on this want? If Celine and Jessie met six months later, would they still desire each other the way that they did nine years later? Had they given each other their contact would they have lost the spark? I think that they would have. 

It's so hard to put a limit on wanting. Personally, I know I have what I need, but I want more. Sometimes I think it wouldn't be bad to be content, but does that mean I am settling for less than I might be worth or capable of? Before Sunset captured the missed time and lost love of two people perfectly. The movie also captured how longing and desiring for another is so plausible through our fantasies and that's what keeps us hopeful that maybe someday we will be able to grasp what it is that we think will fulfill our desires.