Memories of the Future left a very interesting list of songs in my blog here:
https://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/something-to-accompany-eric-rohmer-or-vivaldi/#comments
Below is my comment about BEFORE SUNSET in Memories of the Future’s blog:
http://memoriesofthefuture.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/presenting-ms-nina-simone/#comments
Yes, I have seen both BEFORE SUNSET and BEFORE SUNRISE. I saw BEFORE SUNRISE in a theatre more than ten years ago. I saw BEFORE SUNSET on a cable TV about a year ago. I like both of them very much. And after I read your two articles about BEFORE SUNSET in rottentomatoes, you make me want to see this film again. And, more importantly, your writing makes me wish I could find a film that would affect me that much.
I like BEFORE SUNSET a lot, but I have to admit that the film doesn’t affect me as strongly as it affects you or most of my Thai cinephile friends. This film is in the Top 10 of the year’s lists of most of my friends. One of my Thai friends, Filmsick, wrote something like “Richard Linklater is killing me softly with this film. This film keeps on penetrating my lonely soul again and again and again.”
I don’t know why this film doesn’t affect me as much as my friends. Maybe I’m not a romantic person. Maybe the film portrays a truth about life and love that is too bitter and painful for me to accept. Maybe inside myself, I am still a child singing George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love”, and still prefer to see a film which is not as realistic as this. I don’t know. Anyway, I still like BEFORE SUNSET very much, and maybe, some time in the future, life experiences might make me appreciate this film more.
Reading your articles on BEFORE SUNSET inspires me to compile a list of films that affect me strongly in the heart. Here they are:
1.THE GREEN RAY (1986, Erih Rohmer)
2.DEJA VU (1997, Henry Jaglom)
3.MISS FIRECRACKER (1989, Thomas Schlamme)
4.SHIRLEY VALENTINE (1989, Lewis Gilbert)
5.BUNNY (2000, Mia Trachinger)
Limitless Cinema in Broken English 
I think one of the joys of finding such a beloved film is the unexpectedness of the discovery. I understand why the film doesn’t appeal to everyone–I know several people who have deep reservations with it–but for me it was just a number of elements, both cinematically and in “real life” came together and exploded at one time. It was a very special experience, though I don’t expect it to ever really happen again. At least not on that same level.
On the other hand, The Green Ray is a film that’s been high on my “to-see” list for a very long time now. Rohmer is a director I’m surprised (and rather ashamed) I haven’t explored more, though I actually rented La Collectionneuse last night and will be watching it in the next few days.
Among the other films that touch me on a very deep level I’d include Holiday, Hiroshima mon amour, Vendredi Soir (Friday Night) and C.R.A.Z.Y., though none come close to Before Sunset.
Comment by jataide — May 5, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
If you like Linklater, I really recommend you to watch Rohmer, but not his period films. BEFORE SUNRISE is really like a Rohmer’s film, because Rohmer is great when he deals with the issues of young romantic love. But the romanticness in his films is much more grounded in reality than most romantic films by other directors. Rohmer can capture many little aspects of humans, just like Linklater. And the dialogues in Rohmer and Linklater are very very real.
THE GREEN RAY is fit to be viewed together with BEFORE SUNSET, because THE GREEN RAY is about a woman who searches for the green ray of the sun “before sunset” in the evening. Hahaha.
My feelings for THE GREEN RAY is rather strange, because I hate DELPHINE (Marie Riviere), the main female character in this film, very much. I don’t like her behaviors at all. She is a killjoy. I wouldn’t want to know her if she exists in real life. I wouldn’t want to go on a vacation with her. But even though I hate her, I sympathize with her deeply. Her search for true love is the feeling that I can share.
I also like LA COLLECTIONNEUSE very much. I like every film of Rohmer that has something to do with the sea, especially PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983) and A SUMMER’S TALE (1996), both of which share the same main star – Amanda Langlet. I think I’m more like Margot, the character Langlet played in A SUMMER’S TALE, because she falls in love with a guy who already has a girlfriend. But I prefer the ending of THE GREEN RAY to A SUMMER’S TALE.
If you like the atmosphere of Paris in BEFORE SUNSET, I suggest you watch RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS (1995, Eric Rohmer), which nicely captures the landscape of Paris.
But if you like the theme of “love lost” in BEFORE SUNSET, I suggest you watch DEJA VU (1997, Henry Jaglom) and A WINTER’S TALE (1992, Eric Rohmer).
A memorable quote from DEJA VU from imdb.com:
To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception, it is an eternal loss for which there is no reparation, neither in time or eternity.
I think this quote is applicable to BEFORE SUNSET, too.
Spiritualityandpractice.com also wrote that DEJA VU (1997) teaches us that our lives can be turned around in the blink of an eye by chance encounters. I also think this theme can also be found in BEFORE SUNRISE and Wong Kar-wai’s films.
Other quotes from DEJA VU (1997)
1.”He knew where to find me. Life had got hold of us”—This sentence is said by an old French woman who was deserted by her American GI lover after WWII.
2.”A week hasn’t gone by since I last saw her that I haven’t thought of her. She was the love of my life.”
Somehow I feel as if these two sentences can be applicable to the lovers of BEFORE SUNSET, too. 🙂
I haven’t seen HOLIDAY, but I also like HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (A+) very much. I also like VENDREDI SOIR (A+) and C.R.A.Z.Y. (A), though not as much as to put them in my top ten lists. As for movies about brief encounters, my favorite one is BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, though it is ten times more melodramatic than VENDREDI SOIR. Both films are great in their own ways, I think. As for movies about gay and family, my favorite one is TORCH SONG TRILOGY (1988, Paul Bogart).
Comment by celinejulie — May 6, 2007 @ 2:39 am
The funny thing is, of the two by Rohmer I have seen so far, I actually preferred The Marquise of O to My Night at Maud’s. People often tell me though that my love for the Before… movies should translate into a love for Rohmer. I’m eager to find out, and The Green Ray and Rendevous in Paris will be at the top of the list to see. I’ve never even heard of Deja Vu before–I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. Same goes for Torch Song Trilogy. And you know, I really, really dislike Clint Eastwood films (I’ve sworn off seeing any new films he comes out with), but Bridges intrigues me for some reason. I may have to give it a look some day.
Comment by jataide — May 6, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
[…] MA NUIT CHEZ ROHMER Filed under: Uncategorized — celinejulie @ 8:45 pm BELOW IS MY REPLY TO “MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE” IN MY BLOG. YOU CAN READ “MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE”‘S COMMENT HERE: https://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2007/05/05/before-sunset-the-green-ray/ […]
Pingback by MA NUIT CHEZ ROHMER « Limitless Cinema in Broken English — May 7, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
Jesse, I reply to your comment by writing an entry called MA NUIT CHEZ ROHMER. You can read it via the link below:
Comment by celinejulie — May 7, 2007 @ 9:05 pm