MovieChat Forums > Before Midnight (2013) Discussion > The 'First World Problems' Trilogy

The 'First World Problems' Trilogy


Boom! Nailed it.

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So you think third world people couldn't have an epic romance like this trilogy? What do you have against those people?

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I don't think third world people can afford 6 week vacations in Greece and have legitimate arguments about the actual possibility of moving halfway across the world. And don't forget the previous movies: Jesse freely travels around Europe as a young man and Celine is studying at the Sorbonne. Then in the 2nd movie Jesse is a bestselling author traveling Europe on a book tour, while Celine has also traveled the world and spend time in america. Their problems in the third movie revolve around living abroad and who spends time taking care of the kids and other first world issues.

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Pretty shallow reasoning. None of their issues have anything to do with their locations. You could have a poor family debating the same damn things.

I'm sorry but "who takes care of the kids" is not a first world problem. Divorce and moving are not first world problems either. Likewise with adultery and getting older and couples fighting. They are universal problems.

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They are both privileged individuals who have lived middle to upper middle class lifestyles with enough money in their pockets to travel the world. And instead of having problems based on food, or money, or unemployment, or being able to pay the rent, etc (third world problems), their problems are about whether or not they should live in paris or chicago. THAT IS A FIRST WORLD PROBLEM. Hell, Celine is debating at the beginning of the movie about whether or not to take another job offer! Not to look for a job that may or may not be there, but to take a job that's hers if she wants it. ANOTHER FIRST WORLD PROBLEM. Also, jesse is making an easy living as an author and spends his summer with two other authors talking about potential story lines and deciding what exactly his next book should be about. ANOTHER FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.



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Then every movie is a "FIRST WORLD PROBLEM" movie if it doesn't deal directly with food, rent, and unemployment. People in the third world can have the same freaking problems. Unless you think the only thing couples argue about over there is food and rent. Or you think they cannot deal with problems like divorce and relocating.

Who cares if it's Paris and Chicago? It could be about moving a couple blocks and a couple could be having the same argument.

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People in the third world worry about what their next book is going to be about? Or whether to live in Paris or Chicago? Or whether or not they should stick with their first environmentalist job involving wind farms or switch to a government position that's already been offered to you?

How do you not see that Jesse and Celine are living very privileged lives and that most of their arguments are from a position most of us will never have the fortune to be in?

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News flash but people in the third world have marital problems too. They don't argue the merits of Paris/Chicago in this movie. They are arguing about relocating and uprooting their lives. People in the third world do that too.

Are they priviliged? Hell yes. Is this movie about first world problems? No.

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No one in this thread ever said people in the third world can't have marital problems. The whole purpose of this thread is that many of the problems Jesse and Celine are having are FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS as i've already explained to death. And you've done nothing to show me how people in third world countries face the same level of problems they do in this movie other than to say that married people in third world countries also have marital problems. So you can stop repeating yourself over and over because you haven't successfully made a single point.

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I'm pretty happy with the points I've made. By the way, this thread doesn't have a purpose. It consists of a one line joke and then my response.

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Actually, the purpose of the thread was to explain that one line joke to you as soon as you responded that you didn't get it.

Your incessant and mindless arguing reminds me of how horrible the last 30 minutes of the movie was.

Goodnight, Celine.

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Haha you nailed it. DOn't even get what that person was trying to argue. So if people in other countries have marital problems, relocating life problems, then the whole Celine/Jessie is not a first world problem? Wtf?

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DOn't even get what that person was trying to argue.

So if people in other countries have marital problems, relocating life problems, then the whole Celine/Jessie is not a first world problem?


You just answered your own question, genius. We could go on all day but you and that guy would still probably not "get it."

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The vast majority of the drama in the third movie stems from Jesse's desire to be closer to his son that's in another country and Celine's desire to stay in Europe, so it's obviously not true that the issues have nothing to do with their locations.

That point aside, I do think the original post here is silly if it's an actual complaint and not just a tongue-in-cheek attempt at wit. People should not have to apologize for their standing in this life and this remains an interesting trilogy.

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ugh everyone thinks if you not some kid starving in a third world countries, you can't have problems

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Not nearly enough people think this.
As children are still falling like flies.

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Of course you can have problems. We are all free to consider we have problems.

The difference is that in some places of the world, your problems shorten your life and take you to the grave when you are (still) young. In other places of this world, your problems make you spend good money and time on shrinks and don't prevent you from living till 98.

Who sais that life is fair?

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Well that's basically most movies that deal with romance. Characters sweating over issues.. Sure in an ideal world we would go on vacation and just enjoy being there thinking how blessed we are but no we always run into some problem or stupid fight not worth fighting. No one ever goes. Wait, let's stop arguing because there are starving people. And they go on philosophically starting from before Sunrise going swooning over new gained insights and having romantic thoughts when they see things in cities instead of going OMG how do I afford the next meal...

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People argue about petty b.s. all the time, even when there are far worse problems in the world and others are not so fortunate. Celine and Jesse are passionate people and this film doesn't capture them at their most pure, idealistic time- they have been through enough together to have pent up grudges, and sometimes when couples fight every damn thing comes out. This is the darker film of the series (hence the title). The fight was terrible and painfully realistic of how ugly it can get when two strong minded people lose control and enter the downward spiral of a go-nowhere argument. This was forshadowed at the beginning as well, when Celine said she was apprehensive of an impending Greek tragedy. In any case the Before films can be perceived by people to be this or that- I don't really care- to me a film being dismissed as "First World" does not diminish its value (amusing that this is used as a criticism since Celine very much cares about the, ahem, DEVELOPING world and often states opinions which favor the more vulnerable in society). It would be a logical fallacy to state she is not able to do so simply because she is not in their position. These films are about the couples conversations (which move from one point to another, verbal meanderings if you will)- that is the plot. Nobody is perfect all the time, with our partners we discuss everything and we don't always see eye to eye on the best way to go about our lives. Compromise is tough for two people who are very much indeed free spirits and who put personal fulfillment above everything else (I suppose some could call this selfish while others feel having choices is a luxury you shouldn't have to feel guilty about). The beauty I think is that after they get it out of their systems they come together because at their core is a solid relationship.

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hahahaha. so true.

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There are loads of people in 3rd world countries that take long vacations abroad just like there are people on industrialized nations that live below the poverty line.

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There are a middle-class couple that's why there are so relatable, especially if you live in a first world country. There are the problems that people face everyday in first world countries. Seriously, who cares about third world countries. If I live in one I might care but as I live in the US I can't care even if I want to. They are like completely different people with other concerns and worries and I can't even relate to them if I want to. This movie is made for normal audience who has the luxury and time to watch movies so I guess the director should also make a movie about poor and starving families in third wolrd country but I guess nobody would give a *beep* about watching huh??

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You have a point. Couples in the second, third, fourth...n world do not have the same type of problems, conversations and... mobility. They stick together for economic reasons till they die, no matter how much they come to hate or hurt each other.

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