A trilogy of melancholy: on the bittersweet in Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight

Melancholy is a central expressive property of the Before films and key to understanding and appreciating the trilogy as a whole. That, in a nutshell, is the thesis I wish to develop in this paper. Melancholy is understood here as the profound and bittersweet emotional experience that occurs when we vividly grasp a harsh truth about human existence in such a way that we come to appreciate certain aspects of life more deeply. The various encounters between Celine and Jesse, I will argue, are littered with such moments of melancholy. These moments are partly prompted by the circumstances in which they find themselves, but both of them also actively seek out this experience by the stories they tell and the reflections they engage in. That seems part of who they are as individuals and it may even be part of what attracts them to each other. Melancholy, furthermore, is not just present in the characters’ dialogue and in their facial and bodily expressions, but is also expressed through various cinematic means. And, as I will suggest in the final section, the films may resonate deeply with some viewers because they are so expressive of melancholy.