A sequel to Before Sunrise (1995), this film takes place nine years later as Jesse (Ethan Hawke) travels to Paris giving readings from a book he wrote about the brief encounter with Céline (Julie Delpy) in Vienna, Austria.
My friend Lois took these pictures at my request in 2015. I'm finally posting them with my sincere apologies to her.
Jesse meets with readers in a bookstore – Shakespeare and Company, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, Paris, France. This popular popular store opened in 1951 and received its current name in 1964, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. The original 'Shakespeare and Company' was located on Rue de l’Odéon and existed only briefly, from 1919 to 1941, but was a favorite gathering place for English-speaking writers.
'Shakespeare and Company' has appeared many times in films, for example in Nora Ephron’s Julie and Julia and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. It has also been featured on television (Season 4 of Highlander, and the Hong Kong series Triumph in the Skies II).
Jesse and Céline (Julie Delpy) begin discussing why they were unable to meet again in Vienna nine years earlier, as they had promised. The characters turn from Rue de la Bûcherie onto Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre and walk southwest, away from the Seine.
Jesse confesses that he did come to Vienna. The characters are standing at the corner of Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre and Rue Saint-Séverin. In the background is the Gothic Church of Saint-Séverin dating from 13th–15th centuries.
The characters continue talking about their missed meeting and walk southeast along Rue Galande. The film is supposed to be a continous walk. This scene is where that continuity ends. After the cut, the first “leap” occurs.
Céline shares her impressions of Jesse’s novel. The characters suddenly turn up on the other side of the Seine in the Marais district, approximately 1.5 km (0.9 miles) from the previous location. They are walking northeast along Rue du Jardin Saint-Paul. In the background is the Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, built in the 17th century by Étienne Martellange and François Derand.
The characters turn east onto Rue Charlemagne. On the left of the frame, is the fountain of the Lycée Charlemagne, which appeared here in 1840.
Céline talks about her trip to India and environmental issues – Rue Charlemagne. The camera is looking west while the characters walk east.
Céline continues talking about her work – Rue Charlemagne, now the camera is looking east.
Jesse believes that the world can become a better place, but Céline does not share his point of view. The tiny Rue Eginhard, named after the Frankish scholar Einhard. In the background is the Eginhard Fountain.
Céline says that life in the West is getting better because all the harmful production has been moved to developing countries. The characters emerge from Rue Eginhard onto Rue Saint-Paul.
The second big “leap” — now from the 4th arrondissement to the 11th. Le Pure Café is still open and located at the corner of Rue Jean-Macé and the Passage de la Franche-Montagne.
The third “leap”: immediately after leaving the café and the cut, the characters appear in the 12th arrondissement on the linear park La Promenade Plantée, planted along old railway tracks and running a couple of stories above the Paris streets. They walk along Avenue Daumesnil toward Place de la Bastille. There is only one such arch there, near the western end of the park and the descent to Avenue Daumesnil.
Céline suggests that Jesse tell her what he would say if this were their last day on Earth. That's the same bench.
Céline invites Jesse to take a walk along the Seine, and they descend directly to the Seine. Promenade Plantée does not reach the river, and while analyzing the film, I suspected that a different location had been added to the descent scene. Only later did I realize that the film uses a special effect. The characters descend the real staircase of Promenade Plantée near Place de la Bastille, but a glimpse of the Seine has been added to the frame — in reality, it opens onto a parking lot!
The fourth “leap”: the characters appear on the Quai de la Tournelle near Notre-Dame and go for a boat ride on the Seine aboard a bateau-mouche.
Jesse’s driver brings him and Céline to her residence. The first shot is from the montage of Parisian streets shown at the beginning of the film. In this scene at the end of the film, the car just drives through the archway.
See also...
Rendezvous in Paris |
Before Sunrise |
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