Before Sunrise Page #6

and all they do is have sex...

...all the time.

And they turn out to be

the least violent...

...the most peaceful, the most happy.

So maybe fooling around's

not so bad.

- Are you talking about monkeys?

- Yes, I am.

- I thought so.

- Why?

I never heard this one.

But it reminds me of this perfect...

...male argument to justify them

fooling around.

Women monkeys are fooling around too.

Everybody's fooling around.

That's cute. I have this awful,

paranoid thought...

...that feminism was mostly invented

by men so they could...

...fool around more.

"Woman, free your mind,

free your body. Sleep with me.

We're all happy and free, as long as

I can f*** as much as I can. "

All right.

But maybe there's some

biological things at work here.

If you had an island...

...and there were 99 women

on the island and only one man...

...in a year, you'd have

the possibility of 99 babies.

But if you have an island

with 99 men and only one woman...

...in a year, you have the possibility

of only one baby. So...

You know what?

On this island, I think there

will be only, like, maybe 43 men left.

They would've killed each other

trying to f*** this poor woman.

And on the other island,

there would be 99 women, 99 babies...

...and no more man.

Because they would've all

eaten him alive.

Oh, yeah?

There's something to that.

On some level, women don't mind

the idea of destroying a man.

I was walking down the street

with my ex-girlfriend...

...and we'd just walked by these four

thuggy-looking guys next to a Camaro.

And one of them says,

"Hey, baby. Nice ass!"

So I'm like, "No big deal.

I won't get uptight about this. "

Plus, there were four of them.

Exactly. But she says,

"F*** you, d*ckheads!"

And I'm like, "Okay.

Wait a minute, here. "

They're not gonna come over

and kick her ass.

So who just got pushed

to the frontline on that one?

Women say they hate it

if you're all protective.

But if it suits them, then

they'll tell you you're being unmanly.

You know what? I don't think

woman really wants to destroy man.

Even if they want to,

they don't succeed.

I'm sure even men are

destroying women...

...or are capable of destroying women

much more than women...

Anyway, it's depressing.

You know what?

- You wanna stop talking about this?

- I hate it.

Men, women, it's...

There's no end to it.

It's like a skipping record.

Every couple's been having

this conversation forever.

And nobody came up with anything.

I saw a documentary on that.

It's a birth dance.

A birth dance?

Should I give her some money?

Everything that's interesting

costs a little money.

So a birth dance, huh?

Looked a little bit

like a mating dance to me.

No, but really.

Women used it when giving birth.

In part of the world,

they still do it.

The woman in labor enters a tent...

...and the women of her tribe

surround her and dance.

They encourage her

to dance with them...

...so as to make

the birth less painful.

And when the baby is born,

they all dance in celebration.

I don't think my mom

would've gone for that.

I like the idea of dancing as something

everybody participates in.

I know. I heard about this old guy...

...who was watching

some young people dance.

He said, "How beautiful.

They're shaking off their genitals

to become angels. "

I like that.

One question, though.

When the women are dancing

and being all spiritual and stuff...

...where are the men?

Are we out food gathering? Are we not

invited? You all don't need us?

Men are lucky we don't

bite off their heads after mating.

Certain insects do that,

like spiders and stuff?

We let you live.

What are you complaining about?

See, you're officially kidding.

But there's something to that.

You keep bringing stuff like that up.

No, no. Wait a minute.

Talking seriously here.

I mean, I always feel

this pressure of being...

...a strong and independent

icon of womanhood...

...and not making it look like...

...my whole life is revolving

around some guy.

But loving someone...

...and being loved

means so much to me.

I always make fun of it and stuff...

...but isn't everything

we do in life...

...a way to be loved a little more?

I don't know.

Sometimes I dream...

...about being a good father

and a good husband.

And sometimes it feels really close.

But then other times...

...it seems silly...

...like it would...

...ruin my whole life.

And it's not just

a fear of commitment...

...or that I'm incapable

of caring or loving because...

...I can.

It's just that, if I'm

totally honest with myself...

...I think I'd rather die knowing...

...that I was

really good at something.

That I had excelled

in some way...

...than that I'd just been in...

...a nice, caring relationship.

I had worked for this older man,

and once he told me...

...that he had spent all of his life

thinking about his career.

He was 52,

and it suddenly struck him...

...that he had never really

given anything of himself.

His life was for no one and nothing.

He was almost crying saying that.

I believe if there's

any kind of God...

...it wouldn't be in any of us...

...not you or me...

...but just this little space

in between.

If there's any kind of magic

in this world...

...it must be in the attempt of

understanding someone sharing something.

I know, it's almost

impossible to succeed...

...but who cares really?

The answer must be in the attempt.

I think this is a civilization in

decline. Look at the service.

Where is the waitress?

In New York, she'd be out of a job.

I'm gonna call my friend in Paris...

...who I'm supposed to have

lunch with in eight hours.

Pick up.

- Pick up the phone.

- All right.

I've been working on my English.

You wanna talk in English, for laughs?

Yeah, okay. That's a good idea.

I don't think I'll be able to

make it for lunch today.

I met a guy on the train,

and I got off with him in Vienna.

Are you crazy?

Probably.

- He's Austrian? He's from there?

- No, No.

He's passing through. He's American.

He's going back home tomorrow.

Why'd you get off?

Well, he convinced me.

I mean, actually, I was ready to

get off the train with him...

...after talking to him a short while.

He was so sweet, I couldn't help it.

In the lounge car,

he began to talk about...

...him as a boy seeing

his great-grandmother's ghost.

I think that's when I fell for him.

Just the idea of this little boy

with all those beautiful dreams.

He trapped me.

And he's so cute.

He has beautiful blue eyes...

...nice pink lips...

...greasy hair.

I love it.

He's kind of tall,

and he's a little clumsy.

I like to feel his eyes on me

when I look away.

He kind of kisses like an adolescent.

It's so cute.

- What?

- Yeah, we kissed. It was so adorable.

As the night went on,

I began to like him more and more.

I'm afraid he's scared of me.

I told him the story about

the woman that kills her ex-boyfriend.

He must be scared to death.

He must be thinking I'm

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