Colour my world with recommendations
September 30, 2008 9:11 AM   Subscribe

[MovieRecommendationFilter] So, recently, I went out to blockbuster and rented out two movies: Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset. I'm looking for similar movies to watch on my lonely days. [SpoilersAlert]

Truth be told, I uncannily fell in love with Ethan Hawke's character, Jesse. The way he talks and the way he narrates his childhood and adulthood experiences with people around him; Also the way he laces his questions with deep connotations and his take on some aspects of life.

Similarly Julie Delpy, also plays a brilliant role and I'd say her acting was phenomenal. The way she expresses her thoughts and her demeanor, all bring out her personality even more.

Characters aside, one thing I found to be profoundly interesting was the lack of any action scenes in the movie. The whole film consisted of these two people walking here and there and/or sitting at places or even lying. Sure, it's why we have genre's but, even in romance flicks, we have a change of setting, a change of characters and a change in other subtle things. However, in these two movies, I found that by keeping the characters to a minimum, the script writers really brought out their personality.

Another interesting thing I liked about the movie was the topic of discussion between the two characters. There was always that feeling that they were talking about things beyond my understanding, but at the same time, whatever was being said made perfect sense. For instance, when Jesse talks about his Grandmother's death, and how being a youth, he had no idea about death and it's doings. I have been in the similar position and the first time I experienced death through my eyes, I was left so confused and sure at the same time that it was mind-numbing.

Anyway, those were my thoughts on those two movies, and I'm interested in knowing if there are any others like them.

Please recommend me some 'similar' films or other romance flicks that you passionately enjoyed.
posted by patla to Media & Arts (22 answers total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
Waking Life. Same director, and those characters (or avatars of them) make a brief appearance. Very talky and philosophical.

My Dinner With Andre. The ultimate no-action talky philosophical movie.
posted by adamrice at 9:28 AM on September 30, 2008


My Dinner with Andre
Mindwalk
Waking Life
Slackers
(the last two also directed by Richard Linklater)
Mike Leigh's Naked

I was also reminded of Spaulding Gray's monolgues, like Swimming to Cambodia.

Before Sunset is a great movie.
posted by now i'm piste at 9:28 AM on September 30, 2008


Hal Hartley's earlier stuff like Trust and Whit Stillman's trilogy Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco.
posted by aperture_priority at 9:39 AM on September 30, 2008


Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage.

It's the most heartbreaking and hopeful film about a relationship that I know of.

And, even though "Scenes" spans a number of years on its own, Bergman (a la "Before Sunset") also returned to the same characters almost thirty years later in a different film, Saraband.
posted by Beardman at 9:40 AM on September 30, 2008


Seconding Mindwalk. Lovely film, highly recommended.
posted by velvet winter at 9:40 AM on September 30, 2008


You know that Julie Delpy has made 2 Days in Paris which I cannot help but think is a sort of follow-up to "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset".

By the way those are great movies - one of those examples of where the sequel is better than the original and indeed puts the original into context.
posted by skylar at 9:41 AM on September 30, 2008


Next Stop Wonderland. Hope Davis is da bomb.
posted by philad at 9:46 AM on September 30, 2008


One more, Turtle Diary.
posted by philad at 9:49 AM on September 30, 2008


Conversations with Other Women
posted by jrichards at 9:53 AM on September 30, 2008


Punch-Drunk Love
posted by granted at 10:21 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Eternals Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has a similar feel...
posted by Pantengliopoli at 10:21 AM on September 30, 2008


Judy Berlin is similar, though it has more of a "choral" structure, as they say. I thought it was very very good.
posted by Iosephus at 10:30 AM on September 30, 2008


I love the movies you mentioned a lot so I hope you like these:

Truly, Madly, Deeply
Hiroshima mon amour
White Palace
Wings of Desire (not the American remake)
Educating Rita
Last Night (more an ensemble piece, but just so good)

And though it's less quietly reflective and not focused on just two characters, The Purple Rose of Cairo slays me every time. It's the perfect movie about falling in love within and with movies.
posted by melissa may at 10:54 AM on September 30, 2008


Seconded Scenes from a Marriage. Also Krzysztof Kieslowski's color trilogy with emphasis on Red and Blue (although White is good too and also stars Julie Delphy)
posted by Niomi at 10:57 AM on September 30, 2008


These two similar AskMe questions should provide inspiration.
posted by mkultra at 11:02 AM on September 30, 2008


Scenes from a Marriage is what you're looking for, I'd get the extended version rather than the normal theatrical release.

Two similar (less romantic) recent films that feature very sparse casts, sets, and a lot of good dialogue are Tape (also starring Ethan Hawke) and Closer. If you want to explore further you could do worse than rent a selection of Ingmar Bergman films if you haven't seen them, a lot of the elements you list as enjoying are present in Bergman's films.

mkultra has pointed to my "films with small casts" question above - there are some great recommendations in there.
posted by fire&wings at 2:16 PM on September 30, 2008


Just looking over it actually, "Once" is a great shout that hasn't been mentioned here.
posted by fire&wings at 2:18 PM on September 30, 2008


nthing the Wender's version of Wings Of Desire.

I thought The Limey was weirdly meditative, albeit a bit violent, but there is a lot of scenery with just Terrence Stamp and his two supporting actors.
posted by docpops at 2:49 PM on September 30, 2008


You might like the non-Godard movies associated with the French New Wave. Try stuff by Eric Rohmer, Francois Truffaut, or Claude Chabrol.
posted by Rykey at 3:18 PM on September 30, 2008


I have to say that there really aren't other movies like "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," unfortunately.
The Painted Veil doesn't seem like a romance, but it's thoughtful and a lot of lessons are learned on both sides. If it doesn't have to be a romance, 84 Charing Cross Road is good - although the book is much better, I think. An unusual and very good one is the Korean film, 3-Iron (Bin-jip). Another non-romance but good one is Love Song for Bobby Long - all except for one part that was creepy to me. I thought Station Agent was really great. This might be more appreciated by people in their 30's or 40's and older, but try the Japanese Shall We Dance from 1997 - way better and more intelligent than the more recent Hollywood version. This might be another miss, but have you seen Chocolat, the one with Juliette Binoche & Johnny Depp? One last try - you might be too young for this one, but Enchanted April is one of my all-time favorites.
posted by onemorething at 4:44 PM on September 30, 2008


2nding Once. As much as you liked Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, I can just about guarantee you'll love Once.
posted by cnc at 10:55 PM on September 30, 2008


Not exactly the same, but the Korean film "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring" is similarly meditative, and also beautiful and deliberately paced
posted by softlord at 5:51 AM on October 1, 2008


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