‘Before Midnight’ official trailer released

MANILA, Philippines – “What if you had a second chance with the one that got away?” asks the romantic film “Before Sunset.”

Luckily, we’re given a third.

Creators of acclaimed drama films “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” grant audiences a chance to experience love a 3^rd time around with “Before Midnight.”

Director Richard Linklater, along with co-writers and actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, reunite as they continue the time-bound romance, 18 years in the making.

Watch the newly-released “Before Midnight” official trailer here:

Sunrise, sunset

“Before Sunrise” (1995) introduces American Jesse (Hawke) and French woman Celine (Delpy), strangers who instantly connect upon meeting on a train going through Europe. Armed with a moving oration on the “what-ifs” of life, Jesse convinces Celine to spend the day with him.

As they traverse through the streets of Vienna, share deepening conversations, kiss and fool around, they ultimately ignite what would be a long burning flame—all before the sun starts a new day.

Agreeing to meet in the next 6 months, the ending leaves a bittersweet feeling of hope and anticipation.

The 2004 sequel “Before Sunset,” captures the impact of their meeting 9 years later. Jesse has become the bestselling author of a novel about a one-day love affair and a book-signing leads the two back together.

Set in real time, the film depicts an hour of intense conversation, much like in the prequel, albeit with a more poignant discussion on regret, leading the two to realize how they continue to be enthralled by their past encounter.

Ryan Gilbey of The Guardian deems this as “an honest but affectionate portrait of an amorphous romance – not to mention one of the most tantalising and ingenious endings in all cinema.”

Midnight

What happens next?

Apologies to those who have yet to see the first films or for those who have cringed in anticipation at the open endings, but this we have to say: they eventually get together. Eighteen years after “Before Sunrise” saw the first spark between Jesse and Celine, “Before Midnight” sees the couple now married with twin daughters on a Greek vacation.

Don’t worry, that’s as far as we’ll go with the spoilers.

The film made its debut in the Sundance Film Festival last January and received positive reviews, much like its prequels.

Expect “Before Midnight” to be equally, if not even more, engrossing. Tim Wu of Slate Magazine deems it as “not only good, but so good it approaches perfection.” 

Making Midnight

In a press conference for the Berlin Film Festival, the creators emphasize the elements of time, space, and character in the progression of the trilogy.

“Before Midnight” retains the time-sensitive and heavy conversational style of the first two. Despite this, perhaps what allures the audience is the high level of intelligence and wit the dialogues render, making for a stimulating viewing experience.

Director Linklater has this to say about the dialogues: “It’s not improvised, it’s meticulously rehearsed and structured. They are spontaneously acting but you can’t just do that spontaneously. I can’t describe to you how much work they have to put in.”

In line with this, Hawke shares that there was pressure in living up to expectations.

“We knew we were up against a lot of people having an agenda of how Celine and Jesse should be, and that agenda is stifling because you obviously want to make people very happy, but what’s good about ‘Before Sunrise’ and ‘Before Sunset’ is that it’s very personal to the three of us so we just decided to continue on that path and write things that are true to ourselves,” he states.

When asked to describe their creative process, Delpy explains how the film is partly grounded on the personal.

“This little seed of truth,” she says, “can grow into this tree of fiction. It’s rooted on something true.” –With reports from Ira Agting/Rappler.com

 

“Before Midnight” opens in Philippine theaters on July 10.