Time Heals All Wounds?

     

     On Monday, two big movie news bits hit the web. Yes, they both pertain to sequels (although the two subjects could be no more different in scale), but a similarity they share is in the passing of time between entries. Director Christopher Nolan announced that his currently being filmed The Dark Knight Rises will take place eight years after the previous film (which was only released in 2008). In the age of a constant barrage of on-set footage and blog speculation, this is news indeed. Fans are now pondering what the lengthy gap will mean for the new entry. Will the Joker be mentioned at all? Will Bruce Wayne have gotten over his murdered former flame, Rachael? What does this passing of time signify?

     One film series that knows all about extended gaps between sequels is Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise films. An interview by Allocine with Ethan Hawke made its way to the internet yesterday where Hawke was quoted as saying, "Well, I don't know what we're going to do but I know the three of us have been talking a lot in the last six months. All of three of us have been having similar feelings that we're ready to revisit those characters. There's nine years between the first two movies and, if we made the film next summer, it would be nine years again so we're really started thinking that would be a good thing to do. We're going to try write it this year." Is he speaking about 2011 or 2012? No matter. Here is a series that is all about the years going by and what it does to its aching characters as a result. The series needs lengthy time away from its subjects to allow them to age and learn and view the world (namely adulthood) differently.

     Perhaps it's because I just finished watching Chris Marker's challenging Sans Soleil before writing this entry (a film very much about time, space, and memory) that I felt compelled to bring this point to your attention. Maybe it's just because I find both news items of interest, with of course, the Linklater one taking precedence over Nolan's. I can't be sure. If films can be visual documentations of actors' faces, then let's see how beautifully withered and slender they are to become in the near future. Both films will allow us to partake in the joy of catching up with old friends — and especially in the case of the dark crusader, meeting new enemies.