before sunrise

On the late afternoon train, making a quick stop in Vienna headed directly to France, the passengers inside were exhausted from a long train journey. Some slept amidst the inconvenient movement of the carriages shaking from the intermittent motion.

Celine, a young blonde of twenty years, perhaps twenty-two at most, was curled up in her seat completely absorbed in George Bataille's Eye of the Sun. She was surprisingly beautiful, downplaying the lack of makeup, wearing a loose dress and blue flat shoes without laces.

A few seats down, Jesse, a twenty-year-old, was engrossed in a book about the history of the Crusades, delving into the wars of a crusade, the first crusade, its repercussions, and the Christian chivalry fighting solely by the grace of God.

Both lost in their respective readings, were interrupted by a couple, shouting with such dismay that their roaring cries disturbed the previous peace, now absent among the passengers. Celine suddenly got up, grabbed her bag, and looked around for a new seat to avoid them. She stops in front of Jesse, and before sitting, they make visible eye contact. The moment to create a connection becomes existent. Both smiled, avoiding the evident tension after the glance they exchanged.

Jessi/Billy - who had carefully applied a bit of makeup earlier to give himself a more masculine look, larger, taking away a bit of innocence with slight adjustments.

Just as they both want to engage in reading, the couple of spouses stand up furiously and leave through the aisles. Both realize they're looking at the couple, then they look at each other. Jessi makes a funny face, interrupting the silence.

Jessi tries to speak.

He tries to swallow to gather strength; he doesn't usually talk to pretty women. If he does, it's just that this one is particularly beautiful to his eyes.

-Do you have any idea why they're arguing? Do you speak English? - said Jessi/Billy.

-Yes. But no, I don't know. My German isn't that good, - said Celine/Julie. - Have you heard that as couples age, they lose the ability to listen to each other? -

-Really? - said Jessi/Billy.

-Supposedly, men lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds, and women eventually lose their hearing in the low. I guess they sort of cancel each other out or something, - said Celine.

-I suppose that must be nature's way of allowing couples to grow old together and not kill each other, - said Jesse.

There's a slightly awkward moment where they don't know whether to keep talking or not; she looks back at her book, but he keeps looking at her, a bit oddly.

-What are you reading? - Jesse asked.

She just raises the book for him to see what it's about.

-And you? - the girl asks back.

He shows his book on medieval history, which only raises one she doesn't have much to say about. Jessi seems like he's about to give up on the conversation.

-There are so many odd people on the train, aren't there? Last week, on my way to Budapest, I was sitting talking to four other people in the lounge car, and it turned out that three of them had killed people, - says Celine.

-No way, - responds Jesse.

-, one was a war veteran, another had killed her boyfriend, and another had caused a car accident, - says Celine.

-So, I was the only one who hadn't killed anyone? -  says Jesse.

-No, I was one of them. What do you think? - says Celine.

Jessi/Billy makes a face of embarrassment. She laughs like a bell, being one herself.

-I see, I thought for a moment you were a war veteran. Nonetheless, I know what you mean. I've met some weirdos. The other day, this British guy was sitting in front of me who kept throwing his body against the back of his chair, shouting that we should all unite and stop the train: 'Everyone, we can stop technology now. All together...' - says Billy, demonstrating how he threw himself against the seat.

-What do you think happened? - asked Celine.

-Well, you know, some others and I tried for a while, but we couldn't stop the technology, - said Jesse.

Again, the wife who had previously stormed out returns suddenly, and the argument resumes right in front of them.

-I was thinking of going to the lounge car soon. Do you want to come? - Jesse asked.

-We better head over, - said Celine, walking towards the door.

-Cut, - said the director, ecstatic about the perfect scene they just captured.

-Julie, - called the director, Richard Linklater. "You have to see this scene," he said.

There was a certain work aura between the two; each worked at a slow pace, reviewing the shots carefully, from slight adjustments in the frame to the extras, and the dialogue. It was the fourth take, shot from multiple angles, to determine which would be the appropriate recording for the rest of the film. What was curious was that they were actually on a moving train, heading to Vienna, nothing like adding realism to the film, already shot with only two cameras and minimal lighting.

Billy was reading the medieval book; it was interesting. With Julie, they had bought some second-hand books written in English; she read in French and was teaching him a bit.

-Awesome, - said Julie.

There was a thumbs-up, which made Billy happy.

-What do we do now? - asked Billy.

-Well, we have to wait until we get to Vienna. We've already done the recordings while the train is moving. Now it's your turn, the guy who invites the girl to walk around Vienna in a daring gesture, - said Julie.

-I hope Celine says yes; I would be embarrassed if she left the train with her, - said Billy.

-I'd worry more about filming quickly, although your performance has been more than perfect, and you usually fit the script to a T. We only have 45 minutes before the train departs; we must film all the scenes as quickly as possible, -said Julie.

-Try not to drag us, Julie, - said Billy.

Julie made a gesture of offense. - Mr. Perfect, I hope you know well that I am the one who enhances the performance; you're just the pretty face that attracts women to the cinema. I, on the other hand, am the muse of filmmakers, - said Julie.

They had been working hard for two weeks, method acting, playing lovers, walking from one place to another, finding sorrow and embarrassment, being intimate without crossing the line. They gained something tempting, an accumulation of interest, even Richard had joked that he could cut the tension with a kitchen knife, pointing at himself, cutting the air with a knife. The evidence he provided was necessary for the film. Sometimes, Billy's voice faltered when he tried to say something; he was deep into the role, like Julie, blending essence and sharing thoughts.

-Maybe you should read it, - said Julie, handing him George Bataille's Eye. - I finished it last night, in a marathon; I hardly slept, but it was worth it to delve into the author's ironic perspective. Well, I wouldn't call it ironic, - said Julie, placing her hand on his elbow. For the next fifteen minutes, Billy could only focus on Julie's hand, how her thin hands felt through, it was so human that his body was screaming at him to kiss her with the strength and possessiveness of a wolf. Adoring her, but also devouring her entirely.

...