Before Sunset (2004) - Quotes

The Impact of Relationships on Creativity

Celine: Do you think you would have finished your book if you were fucking someone every five minutes?

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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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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.

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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.

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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: [laughing] No - you thought I'd be here today?

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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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.

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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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Body Image and Miscommunication in Relationships

Jesse: [describing how she looks different] Skinnier, I think. A little thinner.

Celine: Did you think I was fat before?

Jesse: [laughing] No!

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: [laughing] Oh, no...

Jesse: Seriously, all right, you look beautiful.

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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.

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The Autobiographical Nature of Personal Experience

Journalist: Do you consider the book to be autobiographical?

Jesse: [[Thomas Wolfe] 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?

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The Loneliness of Being Together

Celine: Even being alone it's better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely.

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Desires vs. Reality in Everyday Life

Celine: There are so many things I want to do, but I end up doing not much.

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The Relativity of Age and Reality

Celine: I was having this awful nightmare that I was 32. And then I woke up and I was 23. So relieved. And then I woke up for real, and I was 32.

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The Uniqueness of Every Individual

Celine: You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.

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The Absurdity of Dependency on Others

Celine: The concept is absurd. The idea that we can only be complete with another person is evil! Right?

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The Paradox of True Leadership and Humility

Celine: I see it in the people that do the real work, and what's sad in a way is that the people that are the most giving, hardworking, and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader.

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The Value of Small Daily Achievements

Celine: They enjoy the goal but not the process. But the reality of it is that the true work of improving things is in the little achievements of the day.

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The Complexity of Memories and the Past

Celine: Memories are wonderful things, if you don't have to deal with the past.

A Waltz of Unforgettable Moments

Celine: [Celine's Song] Let me sing you a waltz / Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts / Let me sing you a waltz / About this one night stand / You were, for me, that night / Everything I always dreamt of in life / But now you're gone / You are far gone / All the way to your island of rain / It was for you just a one night thing / But you were much more to me, just so you know / I don't care what they say / I know what you meant for me that day / I just want another try, I just want another night / Even if it doesn't seem quite right / You meant for me much more than anyone I've met before / One single night with you, little Jesse, is worth a thousand with anybody / I have no bitterness, my sweet / I'll never forget this one night thing / Even tomorrow in other arms, my heart will stay yours until I die / Let me sing you a waltz / Out of nowhere, out of my blues / Let me sing you a waltz / About this lovely one night stand

Exploring Love Beyond Commitment

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

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.

The Fragility of Emotional Connection

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The Nature of Dissatisfaction in Life

Jesse: I'm designed to feel slightly dissatisfied.

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.