{"product_id":"the-before-trilogy-paperback-1","title":"The 'Before' Trilogy - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLucas Hilderbrand\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Richard Linklater's \u003ci\u003eBefore Sunrise \u003c\/i\u003e(1995), two young lovers, the American Jesse (Ethan Hawke), and the Frenchwoman Celine (Julie Delphy), meet on a train travelling across Europe and spend a magical night together in Vienna before parting at dawn. Filmed in nine-year intervals, the film's sequels \u003ci\u003eBefore Sunset\u003c\/i\u003e (2004) and \u003ci\u003eBefore Midnight\u003c\/i\u003e (2013) forge an unexpected trilogy brimming with longing, second chances and resentments as the couple meet again and build a relationship. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLucas Hilderbrand reflects on the experience of falling in love with, living with and having one's own life shaped by the Before trilogy. Tracing the story of the films' production, he considers the contribution of the leading actors, particularly Delphy, to their screenplays. He offers a close reading of each of the Before films, considering the extent to which they operate beyond the generic norms of romantic comedy or melodrama, incorporating aspects of realism and emotional authenticity through their location shooting, long takes and near-real time temporality. Treating the films as time capsules of their respective historical moments, Hilderbrand considers how evolving politics and technologies impact or interrupt the characters' intimacy, while placing the trilogy in conversation with other films. All the while, he pays attention to the trilogy's subjective impact on viewers across its eighteen-year timespan - and its continuing afterglow.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLucas Hilderbrand \u003c\/b\u003eis Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Irvine, USA. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Bars Are Ours: Histories and Cultures of Gay Bars in America, 1960 and After\u003c\/i\u003e (2023), \u003ci\u003eParis Is Burning \u003c\/i\u003e(2013), and \u003ci\u003eInherent Vice: Bootleg Histories of Videotape and Copyright \u003c\/i\u003e(2009).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 112\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.26 x 7.51 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 13, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47344272769273,"sku":"9781839028021","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/SazuRiA7Ys9781839028021_0169b491-2223-46f6-a654-dd943daad6da.webp?v=1769729500","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/the-before-trilogy-paperback-1","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}