Name: 日落之前》的隱藏結構 (The Hidden Structure of Before Sunset)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:19:49.000Z
Duration: 16 min 47 s
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The “Before” trilogy is, in my opinion, one of the greatest gifts of modern cinema.

Three films, each separated by nine years, that together tell a beautiful and brutal

story of what love means as we progress through life.

All three films have an unusual form—comprised almost exclusively of lengthy conversations

between the two central characters, Jesse and Celine

Because of this unusual structure, I remember being in film school and arguing that Before

Sunset was a perfect example of a movie that doesn't have a Hollywood structure.

Fortunately, as I've grown older and wiser, I've realized that one of the reasons Before

Sunset is so amazing is because it is so structured.

So today, I want to break the film into five acts and dissect each one to uncover the invisible

structure that keeps eighty pages of conversation engaging...

...to look at how the script constructs and then destroys each character's facade...

…and to examine how each moment is tied to the central dramatic question.

Let's take a look at one of my favorite films, Before Sunset.

First, let's define what a story's dramatic question is.

In his book Story, Robert McKee describes it as a variation on the question 'How will

“Hunger for the answer to the Major Dramatic Question grips the audience's interest,

The dramatic question is the hook, the reason we continue watching, and the engine that

Before Sunset opens on Jesse finishing the last leg of his book tour.

As he answers questions, it becomes clear that he's written the events of Before Sunrise

This introduces the dramatic question of this act—the same one the audience was left with

“The book ends on an ambiguous note - we don't know.

Do you think they get back together in six months like they promised each other?”

This introduces the dramatic question of this act,

the same one the audience was left with at the end of Before Sunrise:

Did Jesse and Celine get back together in six months like they promised?

Asking this question overtly but refusing to answer it creates tension,

'to answer that would take the piss outta the whole thing.'”

To keep us engaged, the film slowly hints at the answer,

“Across the room, Celine emerges from behind a row of books,

“He takes a beat, still looking at Celine, not sure what to do next."

But simple curiosity about the answer to the dramatic question

isn't enough to keep the audience engaged.

The substance of a story comes from characters struggling to resist change.

One way characters resist change is by trying to maintain a facade—

a persona they construct to hide the painful truth underneath.

In the first act, Before Sunset hints at the truths Jesse and Celine are hiding from.

"I flew all the way over there. You blew the thing off.

My life's been a big nosedive since then, but it's not a problem."

- “No, you can't say that." - "I'm kidding."

Jesse suggests his life was ruined when she didn't show up,

“Reading something, knowing the character in the story is based on you,

it's both flattering and disturbing at the same time.”

“I don't know. Just being part of someone's memory.

…and Celine suggests his vision of her was disturbing, but immediately changes the subject.

These are the truths the characters are afraid of confronting, locked away behind their facades.

But people and characters always resist changing unless they are forced to,

which is why the film introduces one final dramatic ingredient.

“How long 'till I have to go to the airport?”

“You should leave at 7:30 at the very latest.”

Jesse has a plane to catch, so now a ticking clock looms over everything that comes afterward—

Act one establishes Jesse and Celine's facades,

introduces a time constraint to pressure the characters,

which by the end of the act has actually been answered.

Celine and Jesse did not meet up nine years ago, and haven't spoken since.

So our attention turns to a new dramatic question,

the central dramatic question at the heart   of the entire film.

Will Jesse and Celine get together this time?

we have to know if there is still even a romantic spark between them,

so the second act is about Jesse and Celine catching up.

But how do you make fourteen pages of chit chat about politics, their careers,

The writers make sure that each conversation topic eventually relates to the dramatic question.

Disagreements allow for playful banter...

"I realize that there are a lot of serious problems in the world."

"I mean, I don't even have one publish in the whole Asian market."

...Celine's story about living the U.S. turns into a conversation about the differences

- "I guess they're not as, um..." - "What?"

In that regard, I am proud to be an American."

...And reflecting on how long it's been since they first met allows them to comment

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日落之前》的隱藏結構 (The Hidden Structure of Before Sunset)

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