Ethan Hawke Quotes

Alive

Confronting Nature's Indifference and Human Arrogance

Nando Parrado I saw no color at all in the mountains, just muted patches of black and gray. There was no softness, no life, only rock and snow and ice, and as I looked down into all that rugged wildness, I had to laugh at the arrogance of anyone who had ever thought that human beings have conquered the Earth.

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Before Midnight

The Struggles of Motherhood and Isolation

Céline Very few people realize what it is like for an active or passionate woman to have a child. Some friends told me, "you'll see, you'll want to throw them out the window." Okay, but the truth is I never wanted to hurt them once but I thought about ending it all for myself a hundred times. I was so confused, and you were always away on a stupid book tour or because of Henry's custody shit and I didn't want to be a burden. Now I know why ] put her head in a toaster.

[[Sylvia Plath]

Jesse It was an oven.

Céline Don't play with words. You know what I mean - toaster, oven. Same thing. You know how many times I was alone with the girls crying with no clue what to do? Do you know the guilt a mother feels when she doesn't know what to do?

Jesse Do you think you have sole ownership of that feeling?

Céline I don't think you understand, okay? You know what my secret fear is? With every man? Is that they all want to turn me into a submissive housewife.

Jesse Okay, no one could ever do that, all right? I promise, it would be easier to fit your head into a toaster than to turn you into anything submissive.

Céline I don't think I've recovered since giving birth. When they were born, I had no idea what to do. People expect women to have instinct that kicks in, like a female baboon. But I had no idea how to do anything. I loved them so much, and I was doing everything wrong. And you were away so often, calling me, asking me how my day went, and I couldn't even say it to you because I felt so ashamed for being so clueless.

Jesse Look, I think you did great.

Céline No, I didn't.

Jesse No, you did. Well, you did a good job faking it, then.

Céline I remember the only way I could get them to sleep was to drag that stupid double stroller down the stairs and walk them for hours and hours in the middle of the night, all the way to Pigalle and back. I almost got mugged once... I mean, the only reason why the guy didn't attack me was is that I looked so pathetic. The only upside of being over 35 is that you don't get raped as much. I read it - its true.

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Training Day

Confrontation Over Consequences and Choices

Alonzo I'm gonna get that gun and then Imma get that money. And you ain't gonna do a damn thing, cause you ain't gonna shoot no cop in the back, are you?

Jake Don't do it.

[Cocks gun]

Alonzo You know what they give you for that? The gas chamber. You know what the gas chamber smells like? Pine oil. That's where you headed, boy. To pine oil heaven.

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Before Sunrise

Struggling with Self-Identity and Isolation

Jesse I know what you mean about wishing somebody wasn't there, though. It's just usually it's myself that I wish I could get away from. Seriously, think about this. I have never been anywhere that I haven't been. I've never had a kiss when I wasn't one of the kissers. Y'know, I've never, um, gone to the movies, when I wasn't there in the audience. I've never been out bowling, if I wasn't there, y'know making some stupid joke. I think that's why so many people hate themselves. Seriously, it's just they are sick to death of being around themselves. Let's say that you and I were together all the time, then you'd start to hate a lot of my mannerisms. The way every time we would have people over, uh, I'd be insecure, and I'd get a little too drunk. Or, uh, the way I'd tell the same stupid pseudo-intellectual story again, and again. Y'see, I've heard all those stories. So of course I'm sick of myself. But being with you, uh, it's made me feel like I'm somebody else.

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Before Midnight

Reflecting on Change in Long-Term Relationships

Céline So if we're going to spend another fifty-six more years together...

Jesse Yeah?

Céline What about me would you like to change?

Jesse That's another one of your can't-win questions. I'm not answering that.

[Smirks]

Céline What do you mean? There's not one thing you'd like to change about me? I'm perfect?

Jesse Okay.

Céline Okay.

Jesse Actually...

Céline One thing.

Jesse If I could change one thing about you...

Céline Uh-huh.

Jesse It would be for you to stop trying to change me.

Céline You're a very skilled manipulator, you know that?

Jesse Well, I'm onto you. I know how you work.

Céline You think?

Jesse Yeah. I know everything about you.

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Before Sunset

The Fragility of Emotional Connection

Jesse I feel like if someone were to touch me, I'd dissolve into molecules.

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Before Sunset

The Exhaustion of Endless Ambition

Jesse You realize that most of the people that you meet are trying to get somewhere better, they're trying to make a little bit more cash, trying to get a little more respect, have more people admire them. It's just exhausting.

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Boyhood

Exploring Magic in Everyday Life

Mason Dad? ...There's no, like, real magic in the world, right?

Dad What do you mean?

Mason You know, like elves and stuff. People just made that up.

Dad Oh, I don't know. I mean, what makes you think that elves are any more magical than something like... like a whale? You know what I mean? What if I told you a story about how underneath the ocean, there was this giant sea mammal that used sonar and sang songs and it was so big that its heart was the size of a car and you could crawl through the arteries? I mean, you'd think that was pretty magical, right?

Mason Yeah. But, like... right this second, there's, like, no elves in the world, right?

Dad No. Technically, no elves.

[beat]

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Before Sunrise

Exploring Beliefs About Reincarnation and the Soul

Jesse Do you believe in reincarnation?

Celine Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting.

Jesse Yeah, right. Well, most people, you know, a lot of people talk about past lives and things like that, you know? And even if they don't believe it in some specific way, you know, people have some kind of notion of an eternal soul, right?

Celine Yeah.

Jesse OK, well this was my thought: 50,000 years ago, there are not even a million people on the planet. 10,000 years ago, there's, like, two million people on the planet. Now there's between five and six billion people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like, individual, unique soul, right, where do they all come from? You know, are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls? Cause if they are, that represents a 5,000 to 1 split of each soul in the last 50,000 years, which is, like, a blip in the Earth's time. You know, so at best we're like these tiny fractions of people, you know, walking...I mean, is that why we're so scattered? You know, is that why we're all so specialized?

Celine I don't know. Wait a minute, I'm not sure...I don't...

Jesse Yeah, hang on, hang on. It's a, it's a totally scattered thought. It...which is kind of why it makes sense.

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Before Sunrise

The Importance of Finite Moments in Life

Jesse This friend of mine had a kid, and it was a home birth, so he was there helping out and everything. And he said at that profound moment of birth, he was watching this child, experiencing life for the first time, I mean, trying to take its first breath... all he could think about was that he was looking at something that was gonna die someday. He just couldn't get it out of his head. And I think that's so true, I mean, all - everything is so finite. But don't you think that that's what, makes our time, at specific moments, so important?

Celine Yeah, I know. It's the same for us, tonight, though. After tomorrow morning, we're probably never going to see each other again, right? We, maybe we should try something different. I mean, it's no so bad if tonight is our only night, right? People always exchange phone numbers, addresses, they end up writing once, calling each other once or twice...

Jesse Right. Fizzles out. Yeah, I mean, I don't want that. I hate that.

Celine I hate that too, y'know.

Jesse Why do you think everybody thinks relationships are supposed to last forever anyway?

Celine Yeah, why? It's stupid.

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Gattaca

Preparation for an Uncertain Journey

Jerome Eugene Morrow You're flying today, aren't you? Look at what a mess you're in. Come on. I have your samples ready.

Vincent Freeman I don't need any samples where I'm going.

Jerome You might when you get back. Everything you need to last you two lifetimes.

[shows freezer with a large stockpile of his specimen samples]

Vincent Freeman Why have you done all this?

Jerome So Jerome will always be here when you need him.

Vincent Where are you going?

Jerome I'm traveling too.

Vincent I don't know how to thank you.

Jerome I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body. You lent me your dream. Not until you're upstairs.

[gives Vincent a folded piece of paper]

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Before Sunset

Evolving Perspectives on Relationships and Experiences

Celine It's amazing what perverts we've become in the past nine years.

Jesse At least now we don't have to pretend that each new sexual experience is a life-altering event.

Celine I know. By now, you know, you've stuck it in so many places, it's like about to fall off.

Jesse Yeah, you know, and I can't realistically expect that you've become anything but a total ho, at this point.

Celine Yeah, thank you.

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Training Day

Moral Dilemmas in Law Enforcement

Alonzo It behooves you not to dick around on this one. Justifiable homicide in the line of duty? What happened was...

Jake What happened was murder... and armed robbery. Wait, we had badges, so it's different?

Alonzo Open your eyes, son. Can't you see?

Jake That man was your friend, and you killed him like a fly.

Alonzo Why is he my friend, because he knows my first name? Roger sold dope to kids. The world is a better place without him. This man was the biggest major violator in Los Angeles. This is the game. I'm playing his ass. That's my job. That's your job. I watched that cocksucker operate with impunity for over 10 years, and now I got him. The shit's chess, it ain't checkers. What, we all of a sudden gonna roll up in a black-and-white? Come on, man, take the money.

Jake I told you, I'm *not* gonna take that money.

Alonzo All right, burn it, barbecue it, fish-fry it, I don't give a fuck. But the boys'll feel better about it.

Jake *Fuck* their feelings.

Alonzo You're not making them feel like you're part of the team.

Jake The team? You guys are fuckin insane. All right, I'll go back to the Valley. I'll cut parking tickets. Why does it have to be this way?

Alonzo I'm sorry I exposed you to it, but it is. It's ugly, but it's necessary... Sometimes you gotta have a little dirt on you for anybody to trust you.

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Before Sunset

The Hard Lessons of Life

Jesse Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we wouldn't learn a thing.

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Boyhood

Life's Challenges and Growing Up

Dad Alright, don't worry about it.

[Mason Jr. bowls a gutterball]

Mason Wish we could use the bumpers.

Dad Bumpers are for kids! Y'know, what're you, two years old? You don't want the bumpers. Life doesn't give you bumpers.

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The Purge

Understanding the Purpose of The Purge

Charlie Sandin Why don't you guys do it?

James Sandin Because we don't feel the need to, Charlie. That's all.

Charlie Sandin So, if you felt the need to, you would kill someone tonight?

James Sandin Look, I know this is difficult to understand at your age, but tonight allows people a release for all the hatred and violence and aggression that they keep up inside them. Okay? And yes, if your mother and I were so inclined, uh, we would participate. Because it works. You don't remember how bad it was, Charlie. The poverty, all the crime. This night saved our country.

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Before Midnight

The Nature of Human Discontent

Jesse I remember thinking: this is the natural human state - always a little dissatisfied, perpetually discontented, you know?

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Gattaca

The Changing Views on Love and Happiness

Vincent Freeman They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness. They don't say that anymore.

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The Purge

Uncertainty About Home Security During Crisis

Mary They can't get in here, right? They can't get into our home.

James Sandin I don't know. It's hard to say.

Mary You don't know? You sell these security systems. What do you mean, you don't know?

James Sandin We have tested the system. It works 99% of the time. It looks good. It's strong. People stay away.

Mary It looks good?

James Sandin It's not built for worst-case scenarios.

Mary Is it impenetrable?

James Sandin No, nothing's impenetrable.

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The Magnificent Seven

Drunken Apology and Its Consequences

Drunk I ain't paying for no damn cheat.

Friend Don't mind him, Mr. Robicheaux. He's drunk. He don't mean anything by it.

Drunk Goodnight Robicheaux? Sir, if I'd known that was your man, I never would have spoken so disrespectfully.

Goodnight Robicheaux That's alright, son. You can just pay me double.

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Before Midnight

Reflections on a Decade of Freedom

Jesse You know what I think? I think from the time we leave our parents house until we have kids - that's the only time your life is completely your own. You know I think I had about a decade of that. It was great. It was just like one long, flowing... a day, a week, a year, there wasn't much difference.

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Before Midnight

Attraction and Hypothetical Situations in Relationships

Céline If we were meeting for the first time today on a train, would you find me attractive?

Jesse Of course.

Céline No, but really, right now as I am? Would you start talking to me? Would you ask me to get off the train with you?

Jesse Well, I mean, you're asking a theoretical question. I mean, what would my life situation be? I mean technically, wouldn't I be cheating on you?

Céline Okay. Why can't you just say "yes"?

Jesse No, I did. I said, "of course"! That was -

Céline No-no-no! I wanted you to say something romantic and you blew it.

Jesse Oh, okay. Alright, wait - if I saw you on a train, okay, listen. I would lock eyes with you.

Céline Uh-huh.

Jesse And then I'd walk right up to you and I'd say, "Hey, baby. You are making me as horny as a billy goat in a briar patch.

Céline Stop it, that's disgusting! Billy goat. No, the truth is, you failed the test. And the fact is, you would not pick me up on a train. You wouldn't even notice me, a fat-assed middle-aged mom, losing her hair.

Jesse Okay. Losing her hair?

[Laughing]

Céline Yeah, that's me!

Jesse You set me up to fail. Honestly, you did.

Céline Okay, true. True.

Jesse Alright? Alright? But in the real world, baldy, on game day when it mattered, I did talk to you on a train. I did that, it was the best thing I ever did.

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Gattaca

Brotherhood and Identity in Gattaca

Anton Freeman Vincent. My God you have changed. Has it been so long, you don't recognize your own brother?

[turns around and looks at him. Stands]

Vincent Freeman Are we brothers?

Anton Our parents both died thinking they'd outlived you. I had my doubts.

[Pause]

Vincent What are you doing here Anton?

Anton I should ask you that question. I have a right to be here. You don't.

Vincent You almost sound as if you believe that. I committed no murder. You must be disappointed.

Anton You committed fraud. Listen, you're in a lot of trouble Vincent. I can get you out of here-

[Pause]

Vincent Do you have any idea what it took to get IN here?!

Anton You've gone as far as you can go. You come with me now!

Vincent There is still a few million miles left to go..

Anton It's over..

Vincent Is it the only way you can succeed is to see me fail?

Anton I'm telling you.....

Vincent MY GOD, EVEN YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO NOW!? In case you haven't noticed, I don't need any rescuing, but you did once. Well.. you've got all the answers, how do you explain that?

Anton You didn't beat me that day. I beat myself.

Vincent Who are you trying to convince?

Anton Do you want me to prove it to you?

Vincent It's not important Anton. It's forgotten.

Anton I'll prove it to you. YOU WANT ME TO PROVE IT TO YOU?! I'LL PROVE IT TO YOU!

Vincent I do.

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Before Sunset

Reflections on Love and Relationships

Jesse What is love, if it's not respect, trust, admiration? And I felt all those things. So cut to the present tense: I feel like I'm running a small nursery with somebody I used to date.

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Before Sunset

A Chance Encounter in Paris

Jesse You want to know why I wrote that stupid book?

Celine Why?

Jesse So that you might come to a reading in Paris and I could walk up to you and ask, "Where the fuck were you?

Celine No - you thought I'd be here today?

[laughing]

Jesse I'm serious. I think I wrote it, in a way, to try to find you.

Celine Okay, that's– I know that's not true, but that's sweet of you to say.

Jesse I think it is true. What do you think were the chances of us ever meeting again?

Celine After that December, I'd say almost zero. But we're not real anyway, right? We're just, uh, characters in that old lady's dream. She's on her deathbed, fantasizing about her youth. So of course we had to meet again.

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Before Sunset

Pursuing an Ideal Self Over Authenticity

Jesse I have this idea of my best self, and I wanted to pursue that even if it might have been overriding my honest self.

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Before Sunrise

A Moment of Language and Understanding

Poet 哎，（用德语）

Celine 我理解一点（德语），但他完全不懂。

Poet 哦。我可以问你们一个问题吗？

Celine 是？

Poet 我想与你们做个交易。我的意思是，我并不是向你们讨钱，而是请你给我一个词。你们给我一个词，然后我写首诗，这个词在诗中。如果你们喜欢，如果你们喜欢我的诗，如果它为你们的生活增加了点什么，那么你们可以随便给我点钱。当然我会用英文写。

Celine 好的。

Jesse 很好，

Poet 来吧，选个词。

Celine 一个词，奶昔。

Jesse 奶昔，哦，好。我想说“好斗的公鸡”，但奶昔也不错。

Poet 奶昔？好的，就奶昔。

Jesse 好

Celine 很好。

Jesse 我想说，我喜欢维也纳的无业游民。

Celine 我喜欢他说的“给你们的生活增加点什么”。

Jesse 那么，我们是不是在这里停止我们的首次争执？

Celine 我想是的，我们应该这样。但为什么每个人都认为冲突是坏的？冲突可以带来很多好东西呀。

Jesse 是，我也这样想。我总是认为，如果我能够接受现实，比如大家一般认为的生活是艰苦的，那么我将可能不再那么生气。我只会为好事而高兴。

Celine 这正是我还在学校的原因。在学校里更容易抵抗某些东西。

Jesse 对，我们都有这种根深蒂固的征服欲。你知道，我在做些最无意义的事，比如投飞镖，或打靶，但突然，我觉得它来了，我必须要赢。

Celine 那是你让我下车的原因吗？征服欲？

Jesse 什么意思？

Poet 诗写好了

Jesse （接过写着诗的纸片）哦，好。

Celine （把纸片还给诗人）你能念给我们听吗？

Poet 当然。骗人的白日梦汽车的睫毛哦，孩子，你可爱的脸庞，滴一滴泪在我的酒杯。看着这些大眼睛，明白你对我意味着什么 ——蛋糕与奶昔我是骗人的天使我是幻想的乐园我希望你了解我，不要瞎猜。你不知道我来自何处我们不知道我们走向何处。人生在世，如水中浮萍，顺流而下，相遇在水流中我带着你你带着我，我们只能这样。你不了解我吗？你到现在还不了解我吗？

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Before Sunset

Fate and Free Will in Relationships

Celine The past is the past. It was meant to be that way.

Jesse What, you really believe that? That everything's fated?

Celine Well, you know, the world might be less free than we think.

Jesse Yeah?

Celine Yeah, when given these exact circumstances, that's what will happen every time: two part hydrogen, one part oxygen, you get water every time.

Jesse No, no, I– I– I mean what if your grandmother had lived a week longer, or, you know, or passed away a week earlier, days even. You know things might have been different. I believe that.

Celine No, you can't think like that, it's...

Jesse No, I mean, I know you shouldn't on most things, but– It's just, on this one it seemed like something was off, you know?

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Before Sunset

The Evolution of Self-Perception Over Time

Jesse Maybe what I'm saying is the world might be evolving the way a person evolves. Right? Like, me for example. Am I getting worse? Am I improving? I don't know. When I was younger, I was healthier, but I was whacked with insecurity. Now I'm older and my problems are deeper, but I'm more equipped to handle them.

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Before Sunset

Questioning the Nature of Marriage Responsibilities

Jesse We're just living in a pretense of a marriage responsibility, and all these ideas of how people are supposed to live.

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Boyhood

Confronting Emotions on a Difficult Day

Mom This is the worst day of my life.

Mason What are you talking about?

Mom I knew this day was coming. I just... I didn't know you were going to be so fuckin happy to be leaving.

Dad That doesn't make sense.

Mason I mean, it's not that I'm that happy... what do you expect?

Mom You know what I'm realizing? My life is just going to go, like that. This series of milestones. Getting married, having kids, getting divorced. The time that we thought you were dyslexic. When I taught you how to ride a bike. Getting divorced... again, getting my master's degree, finally getting the job I wanted. Sending Samantha off to college. Sending you off to college. You know what's next? Huh? It's my fuckin funeral! Just go! And leave my picture!

[beat]

Mason Aren't you jumping ahead by, like, 40 years or something?

Mom I just... thought there would be more.

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Before Sunset

Exploring Love Beyond Commitment

Jesse There's gotta be something more to love than commitment.

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Before Sunrise

A Dreamlike Connection in Unlikely Circumstances

Jesse I feel like this is, uh, some dream world we're in, y'know.

Celine Yeah, it's so weird. It's like our time together is just ours. It's our own creation. It must be like I'm in your dream, and you in mine, or something.

Jesse And what's so cool is that this whole evening, all our time together, shouldn't officially be happening.

Celine Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why this feels so otherworldly.

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Before Midnight

The Struggles of Real Love

Jesse You're just like the little girls and everybody else. You wanna live inside some fairy tale. I'm just trying to make things better. I tell you that I love you unconditionally, I tell you that you're beautiful, I tell you that your ass looks great when you're 80. I try to make you laugh.

Céline OK.

Jesse All right, I put up with plenty of your shit. And if you think I'm just some dog who's gonna keep coming back, then you're wrong. But if you want true love, then this is it. This is real life. It's not perfect, but it's real. And if you can't see it, then you're blind, all right, and I give up.

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Conflicting Ideals in a Complex Setting

Igon Sirrus I'm fighting for a noble cause, too. Mine.

Jolly the Pimp Rules are rules and this is a place where we make love, not war.

Button Man By the grace of God.

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Gattaca

Returning to the Stars: A Reflection on Existence

Vincent Freeman For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving... maybe I'm going home.

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Before Sunset

Body Image and Miscommunication in Relationships

Jesse Skinnier, I think. A little thinner.

[describing how she looks different]

Celine Did you think I was fat before?

Jesse No!

[laughing]

Celine Yeah, you thought I was a fatty. No, you thought I was a fatty! Yeah, you, you wrote a book about a fat French girl!

Jesse No, listen...

Celine Oh, no...

[laughing]

Jesse Seriously, all right, you look beautiful.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Magnificent Seven

Finding Hope in Despair

Goodnight Robicheaux Why do you waste your time on a piece of rebel trash like me?

Sam Chisolm What we lost in the fire, we will find in the ashes.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Alive

Building a Life Through Hard Work

Nando Parrado You can't build a ] on a foundation of dreams and wishes. A ] life isn't plucked from the sky. You build a life up from the ground, with hard work and clear thinking. Things make sense. There are rules and realities that will not change to suit your needs. It's your job to understand these rules. If you do, and you work hard and work smart, you will be all right.

[[life; [good]

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Training Day

Consequences of Choices in a Dangerous Game

Alonzo What's that?

[''After catching Blue in the back of a Korean store after a chase, forcefully pressing a pen down Blue's throat causing him to vomit the crack rocks he was hiding in his stomach'']

Blue Motherfucking crack, man.

Alonzo That's right, Jimmy Crack Corn. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Oh, you're federally fucked now. You got crack... and a gun. You know with your record you can get 10 years per bullet? Now you gon gimme a name. That's 10 right there.

['''Pops out a bullet'']

Blue Come on, man. You know I ain't no snitch, man.

Alonzo I know you ain't no snitch. Gimme a name. That's 20.

[''Removes bullet'']

Blue Fuck!

Alonzo Gimme a name. That's 30 years. You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?

[''Pops out a bullet''; ''Pops out a bullet'']

Blue He in the county!

Alonzo Who?

Blue Nigga named Sandman. That's all the fuck I know, man! Shit!

Alonzo See how easy that was?

[''Pops out a bullet'']

Blue I'm sick of this shit, man.

Alonzo You wanna collect the evidence?

Jake Fuck that.

Alonzo My nigga.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Before Sunrise

The Illusion of Happy Relationships

Celine You know, I've been wondering lately. Do you know anyone who's in a happy relationship?

Jesse Uh, yeah, sure. I know happy couples. But I think they lie to each other.

Celine Hmf. Yeah. People can lead their life as a lie. My grandmother, she was married to this man, and I always thought she had a very simple, uncomplicated love life. But she just confessed to me that she spent her whole life dreaming about another man she was always in love with. She just accepted her fate. It's so sad.

Jesse I guarantee you, it was better that way. If she'd ever got to know him, I'm sure he would have disappointed her eventually.

Celine How do you know? You don't know them.

Jesse Yeah, I know, I know. It's just, people have these romantic projections they put on everything. That's not based on any kind of reality.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Before Sunset

The Beauty That Stopped Destruction

Jesse I heard this story once about when the Germans were occupying Paris and they had to retreat back. They wired Notre Dame to blow, but they had to leave one guy in charge of hitting the switch. And the guy, the soldier, he couldn't do it. You know, he just sat there, knocked out by how beautiful the place was. And then when the allied troops came in, they found all the explosives just lying there and the switch unturned, and they found the same thing at Sacre Couer, Eiffel Tower. Couple other places I think...

Celine Is that true?

Jesse I don't know. I always liked the story, though.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Before Sunrise

Exploring Unexpected Connections in Conversation

Jesse Alright, I have an admittedly insane idea, but if I don't ask you this it's just, uh, you know, it's gonna haunt me the rest of my life

Celine What?

Jesse Um... I want to keep talking to you, y'know. I have no idea what your situation is, but, uh, but I feel like we have some kind of, uh, connection. Right?

Celine Yeah, me too.

Jesse Yeah, right, well, great. So listen, so here's the deal. This is what we should do. You should get off the train with me here in Vienna, and come check out the capital.

Celine What?

Jesse Come on. It'll be fun. Come on.

Celine What would we do?

Jesse Umm, I don't know. All I know is I have to catch an Austrian Airlines flight tomorrow morning at 9:30 and I don't really have enough money for a hotel, so I was just going to walk around, and it would be a lot more fun if you came with me. And if I turn out to be some kind of psycho, you know, you just get on the next train. Alright, alright. Think of it like this: jump ahead, ten, twenty years, okay, and you're married. Only your marriage doesn't have that same energy that it used to have, y'know. You start to blame your husband. You start to think about all those guys you've met in your life and what might have happened if you'd picked up with one of them, right? Well, I'm one of those guys. That's me y'know, so think of this as time travel, from then, to now, to find out what you're missing out on. See, what this really could be is a gigantic favor to both you and your future husband to find out that you're not missing out on anything. I'm just as big a loser as he is, totally unmotivated, totally boring, and, uh, you made the right choice, and you're really happy.

Celine Let me get my bag.

Before Midnight

Revisiting Past Connections and Memories

Céline Do you remember this friend of mine? George, from New York.

Jesse No.

Céline Oh, no, that was before. That was before.

Jesse What was?

Céline He was this friend of mine that, when he found out he had leukemia, and he was probably going to die, he confessed to me that the first thing that came to his mind was relief.

Jesse Relief? But why?

Céline Well, before he found out he had nine months to live he was always so worried about money, and now his thought was, great! I have more than enough money to live for the next nine months, I've made it!

Jesse Oh, okay.

[laughing]

Céline And then he was finally able to enjoy everything about life, even like being stuck in traffic. He would just enjoy looking at people... staring at their faces. Just little things.

Before Sunset

The Autobiographical Nature of Personal Experience

Journalist Do you consider the book to be autobiographical?

Jesse Uh, well, I mean... isn't everything autobiographical? I mean, we all see the world through our own little keyhole. I mean, I always think of ]. You know, have you ever seen that little one-page Note to Reader in the front of Look Homeward, Angel?...Anyway, he says that we are the sum of all the moments of our lives and that, uh, anybody who sits down to write is gonna use the clay of their own life - that you can't avoid that. So when I look at my own life, you know, I have to admit, right, that I've-I've never been around a bunch of guns or violence, you know, not really. No political intrigue or a helicopter crash, right? But my life, from my own point of view, has been full of drama, right? And uh, so I thought, if I could write a book that, that could capture what it's like to, to really meet somebody, I mean, one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me is to meet somebody, to make that connection. And if I could make that valuable, you know, to capture that, that would be the attempt, or... Did I answer your question?

[[Thomas Wolfe]

Before Sunset

Reflecting on Missed Opportunities in Life

Jesse Oh, God, why weren't you there, in Vienna?

Celine I told you why.

Jesse Well, I know why, I just– I wish you would have been. Our lives might have been so much different.

Celine You think so?

Jesse I actually do.

Celine Maybe not. Maybe, we would have hated each other eventually.

Jesse Oh what, like we hate each other now?

Celine You know, maybe we're– we're only good at brief encounters, walking around in European cities in warm climate.

Before Midnight

The Dynamics of Rational and Emotional Conversations

Jesse So this is how you now want to be spending this evening? I mean, this is what you wanna do tonight?

Céline Well, you started it.

Jesse No. You are the one who will not shut up about it. But if you want to talk about it, I mean, really talk about it. I would prefer to have an unemotional, rational conversation. I mean, do you think we can do that? Would that be possible?

Céline Here we go. Unemotional, rational. You always play the part of the one and only rational one and I'm the irrational, hysterical, hormone-crazy one because I have emotions. Yeah, you sit back and you speak from your big perspective which means everything you say is level-headed and true.

Jesse I don't always do anything.

Céline The world is fucked by unemotional rational men deciding shit, alright? Politicians going to war for no reason, corporate heads deciding to wreck the environment, ], ] - very rational men.

[[Dick Cheney|Cheney; [Donald Rumsfeld|Rumsfeld]

Jesse Cheney and Rumsfeld? Yeah, okay.

Céline The ]? Very rational thinking behind it.

[[w:final solution|final solution]

Before Sunset

Desire and Acceptance in Life's Wants

Jesse Maybe it's just a sense of entitlement. You know, like whenever you feel like you deserve that new pair of shoes. It's OK to want things as long as you don't get pissed off if you don't get em. Right?

Gattaca

The Science of Discrimination in Society

Vincent Freeman I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.

Before Sunset

The Nature of Dissatisfaction in Life

Jesse I'm designed to feel slightly dissatisfied.

The Magnificent Seven

A Father's Wisdom in Conversation

Goodnight Robicheaux This reminds me of what my daddy always used to say.

[pinned down by enemy fire]

Billy Rocks What's that, Goody?

Goodnight Robicheaux Well, you know, my daddy said a lot of things.

[pause; both laugh]

Before Sunset

Reflections on Connection and Youthful Choices

Jesse Oh, God, why didn't we exchange phone numbers and stuff? Why didn't we do that?

Celine Because we were young and stupid.

Jesse Do you think we still are?

Celine I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times.

Jesse And you can screw it up, you know, misconnect.

The Magnificent Seven

Confronting the Threat of a Gatling Gun

Goodnight Robicheaux They got the devil's breath! They got a goddamn Gatling gun!

Before Midnight

Acceptance of Flaws in Love

Jesse I am giving you my whole life OK? I got nothing larger to give, I'm not giving it to anybody else. If you're looking for permission to disqualify me, I'm not gonna give it to you. OK? I love you. And I'm not in conflict about it. OK? But if what you want is like a laundry list of all the things that piss me off, I can give it to you.

Céline Yeah, I want to hear.

Jesse Okay well, number 1, you're fucking nuts! You are. Good luck! Find somebody else to put up with your shit for more than like 6 months, okay? But I accept the whole package, the crazy and the brilliant. I know you're not gonna change and I don't want you to. It's called accepting you for being you.

Before Midnight

The Cost of Women's Achievements

Céline Most women who achieve anything in life, the first time you hear about them, they're in their 50's, because it was so hard for them to get any recognition before then. They struggle for 30 years or they raise kids and were stranded at home before they could finally do what they want. Actually, you know what? It's kind of freeing. We don't have to spend our lives comparing ourselves to ], ], ]...

[[Martin Luther King; [Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi; [Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]

Jesse What about ], right, she was a teenager and she saved France, so...

[[w:Joan of Arc|Joan of Arc]

Céline Who wants to be Joan of Arc? Forget France, she was burnt at the stake and a virgin, okay. Nothing I aspired to. What a great achievement!

Before Midnight

A Memorable Night Ahead

Jesse Do you think it could be tonight that you're still talking about in your 80s?

Céline Well, it must have been one hell of a night we're about to have.

Before Sunrise

The Complexity of Temporary Connections

Celine I don't think we should sleep together. I mean, I want to, but since we're never gonna see each other again, it will make me feel bad. I'll wonder who else you're with. I'll miss you. I know. It's not very adult. Maybe it's a female thing. I can't help it.

[pause]

Jesse Let's see each other again.

The Magnificent Seven

Wit and Humor in Conversation

Josh Faraday Like being in one of them damn zoos.

[townsfolk all staring as they eat their dinner]

Goodnight Robicheaux Fame is a sarcophagus.

Josh Faraday You read those in a book, or you just make em up as you go?

Goodnight Robicheaux I'll try to use one-syllable words from now on.

Josh Faraday What... what's a syllable?

The Magnificent Seven

Cultural Heritage and Conflict in Conversation

Goodnight Robicheaux What a merry band, we are. Me a Grey, Chisolm a Blue, Billy a mysterious man of the Orient, a drunk Irishman, a Texican, a female and her gentlemen caller. This is not going to end well.

Vasquez I'm Mexican, cabrón. No such thing as a "Texican.

Goodnight Robicheaux Try telling that to my granddaddy. He died at the Alamo. New Orleans Greys, long barracks, bayonets. Blood, teeth. Mauled by a horde of teeming brown devils.

Vasquez My grandfather was one of those devils, you know. Toluca Battalion. Hey, maybe my grandfather killed your grandfather, huh?

Before Sunrise

The Paradox of Time-Saving Technology

Jesse You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

Before Sunset

The Significance of Each Moment in Life

Jesse I don't have any permanent place here. You know, in eternity, or whatever. And the more I think that, I can't go through life saying that this is no big deal. I mean, this is it! This is actually happening. What do you think is interesting, what do you think is funny, what do you think is important? You know, every day is our last.

Boyhood

Sibling Playfulness and Political Mischief

Dad Go get that McCain sign, would you?

Mason What?

Dad Get the McCain sign. Go rip it up, come on. Get it, get it, get it, go, go, go! Good job, good job. Proud of you, son.

[Mason runs across the street to grab the sign to him; closes trunk before driving off]

Samantha You guys are gonna get us arrested.

Dad Hey look, I'm a patriot. Alright? And sometimes in this life, you gotta fight.

Before Sunset

The Importance of Commitment Over Expectations

Jesse In the moment I remember thinking that it didn't much matter the "Who" of it all. Nobody is gonna be everything to you, and that ultimately it's just a simple action of committing yourself, meeting your responsibilities that matters.

Before Sunset

The Impact of Love on Personal Belief

Celine I was fine, until I read your fucking book! It stirred shit up, you know? It reminded me how genuinely romantic I was, how I had so much hope in things, and now it's like, I don't believe in anything that relates to love. I don't feel things for people anymore. In a way, I put all my romanticism into that one night, and I was never able to feel all this again. Like, somehow this night took things away from me and I expressed them to you, and you took them with you! It made me feel cold, like if love wasn't for me!

Jesse I... I don't believe that. I don't believe that.

Celine You know what? Reality and love are almost contradictory for me. It's funny. Every single of my ex’s, they're now married! Men go out with me, we break up, and then they get married! And later they call me to thank me for teaching them what love is, and, and that I taught them to care and respect women!

Jesse I think I'm one of those guys.

Celine You know, I want to kill them! Why didn't they ask me to marry them? I would have said "No," but at least they could have asked! But it's my fault, I know it's my fault, because I never felt it was the right man. Never! But what does it mean the right man? The love of your life? The concept is absurd. The idea that we can only be complete with another person is EVIL! Right?!

Jesse Can I talk?

Celine You know, I guess I've been heart-broken too many times. And then I recovered. So now, you know, from the start I make no effort because I know it’s not going to work out, I know it’s not going to work out.

Boyhood

The Search for Meaning in Life

Mason So what's the point?

Dad Of what?

Mason I don't know, any of this. Everything.

Dad Everything? What's the point? I mean, I sure as shit don't know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We're all just winging it, you know? The good news is you're feeling stuff. Y'know, and you've got to hold on to that. You do. I mean, you get older and you don't feel as much. Your skin gets tougher. The point is those pictures you took, thousands of submissions from all over the state, and you won.

Mason Well, I got silver. And nine other people did, too.

Dad I'm gonna kill you. I'm tryin to tell you that I believe in you, Mason. I think you're really special, and if some girl doesn't see that, then fuck her, y'know?

Memorable Quotes from Ethan Hawke