I watched Dazed and Confused on Monday, Before Sunrise on Tuesday, Before Sunset on Thursday, and Before Midnight on Friday. I watched a bunch of the DVD extras on Saturday and re-watched Before Sunset on Sunday. This has consumed my whole week.
I also rewatched Before Sunset on Friday and am about halfway through Before Midnight right now (some benefits to being sick, I guess). I was just going to message you with the mostly non-spoiler "Julie Delpy stays beautiful throughout and Ethan Hawke looks worse and worse (though it's possible that's just my ongoing attachment to '90s floppy hair on dudes)."
But now that I don't have to risk spoilers (insofar as there are spoilers to these), I'll say that I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through Midnight this time. It is so hard and so fighty, and now that my kid is closer in age to Jesse's son, their relationship is far more wrenching than it was when I first saw the film six or seven years ago (or somewhere in there--I forget). He loves him so much and still says all the wrong things, and it breaks my heart. I think I also like it less because of what feels like the intrusion of other characters. It makes sense for there to be more people in their lives when they're older and have kids and are purposefully in the same place as a family rather than on their own, but I miss the intensity of their earlier conversations (and of course the much less intense fights).
I think ultimately Sunrise is my favorite because of the time when I saw it and the time it takes place and the age that I was; Sunset is the best film; and Midnight is the most true to life and thus hardest to take. But yeah, you can't go back to Sunrise at the end anymore than you can go back to the beginning of a novel that's consumed you when you finish it (finishing The Once and Future King when I was thirteen or so gave me just that feeling).
I also rewatched Before Sunset on Friday and am about halfway through Before Midnight right now (some benefits to being sick, I guess). I was just going to message you with the mostly non-spoiler "Julie Delpy stays beautiful throughout and Ethan Hawke looks worse and worse (though it's possible that's just my ongoing attachment to '90s floppy hair on dudes)."
But now that I don't have to risk spoilers (insofar as there are spoilers to these), I'll say that I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through Midnight this time. It is so hard and so fighty, and now that my kid is closer in age to Jesse's son, their relationship is far more wrenching than it was when I first saw the film six or seven years ago (or somewhere in there--I forget). He loves him so much and still says all the wrong things, and it breaks my heart. I think I also like it less because of what feels like the intrusion of other characters. It makes sense for there to be more people in their lives when they're older and have kids and are purposefully in the same place as a family rather than on their own, but I miss the intensity of their earlier conversations (and of course the much less intense fights).
I think ultimately Sunrise is my favorite because of the time when I saw it and the time it takes place and the age that I was; Sunset is the best film; and Midnight is the most true to life and thus hardest to take. But yeah, you can't go back to Sunrise at the end anymore than you can go back to the beginning of a novel that's consumed you when you finish it (finishing The Once and Future King when I was thirteen or so gave me just that feeling).
(Also yes, I can see other people's comments, to answer your question!)