Speaker A
I met a guy in the train, and I got off with him in Vienna.
A reflective look at love, connection, and missed opportunities through the story of two travelers meeting on a train in Europe.
Key Takeaways
- True connection between people is rare and deeply impactful.
- Romantic idealism often clashes with the realities of adult relationships.
- Past relationships shape our present emotional state and outlook on love.
- Communication and vulnerability are essential but difficult in intimate relationships.
- Memories and missed opportunities can haunt but also enrich personal growth.
Summary
- Two strangers, Jesse and Celine, meet on a train and form an intense, fleeting connection in Vienna.
- They explore themes of love, loneliness, and the complexity of relationships through their conversations.
- The story reflects on the impact of past relationships and the difficulty of truly communicating with others.
- Jesse and Celine discuss their personal struggles with love, family expectations, and romantic idealism.
- The narrative contrasts youthful romantic hope with the cynicism and challenges of adult relationships.
- They consider the significance of fleeting moments and the idea of love as both escape and connection.
- The story revisits the possibility of reconnection six months later, highlighting memory and regret.
- Both characters reveal vulnerabilities about marriage, parenthood, and emotional isolation.
- The dialogue blends English and French, emphasizing cultural and emotional nuances.
- The retrospective format invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences with love and loss.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
We're still there.
Speaker B
I met somebody in my last night in Europe.
Speaker B
Can you believe that?
Speaker B
She was literally a Botticelli angel.
Speaker A
He was so sweet, I couldn't help it.
Speaker A
And he's so cute.
Speaker B
What are you reading?
Speaker A
How about you?
Speaker B
Um, look, I was thinking about going to the lounge car sometime soon.
Speaker B
Would you like to come with me?
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
I'm American.
Speaker A
You're American?
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Are you sure?
Speaker B
Yeah, I'm just, I'm just traveling around, I've been riding the trains for about two, three weeks.
Speaker A
What?
Speaker B
She's super smart.
Speaker A
I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away.
Speaker B
I wish I had met you earlier, you know, I really like talking to you.
Speaker A
Yeah, me too.
Speaker A
It was really nice talking to you.
Speaker B
All right, I have an admittedly insane idea, but if I don't ask you this, it's just, you know, it's gonna haunt me the rest of my life.
Speaker A
What?
Speaker B
You should get off the train with me here in Vienna and come check out the town.
Speaker A
What?
Speaker B
It'll be fun, and if I turn up to be some kind of psycho, you know, you just get on the next train.
Speaker A
Let me get my bag.
Speaker B
My name?
Speaker B
It's Jess.
Speaker B
It's James, actually, but everyone always calls me Jesse.
Speaker A
I'm Celine.
Speaker B
This is gorgeous.
Speaker A
Yeah, this is beautiful.
Speaker A
Do you know anyone who's in a happy relationship?
Speaker B
I mean, my parents are just these two people who didn't like each other very much.
Speaker B
Who decided to get married and have a kid, and they try their best to be nice to me.
Speaker A
You know, my parents never really spoken of the possibility of my falling in love or getting married or having children. I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood and not making, making it look like my, my whole life is revolving around some guy.
Speaker B
Well, I kind of see love as this escape for two people who don't know how to be alone, you know.
Speaker B
Can I tell you a secret?
Speaker A
Are you trying to say you want to kiss me?
Speaker B
I feel like this is some dream world we're in.
Speaker A
Yeah, it's so weird.
Speaker A
So I've been in my life, I've met so many people and shared beautiful moments like traveling or staying up all night and watching the sunrise.
Speaker A
I wish that'd been with someone else.
Speaker A
But I'm happy to be with you. You couldn't possibly know why a night like this is so important to my life right now.
Speaker A
I don't think we should sleep together.
Speaker A
You meet a French girl on the train, fuck her and never see her again.
Speaker A
And that's a great story. I don't want to be a great story. I want to be this.
Speaker A
You don't want to see me again?
Speaker B
If somebody gave me the choice right now of to never see you again or to marry you, I would marry you.
Speaker B
And maybe that's a lot of romantic bullshit, but people have gotten married for a lot less.
Speaker A
Okay.
Speaker A
This is it now.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Have a great life. Have fun with everything you're gonna do, you know.
Speaker B
Work hard.
Speaker B
Go to school and all that.
Speaker A
Maybe we should meet here in December.
Speaker B
But I'm gonna be here.
Speaker A
Okay, me too.
Speaker B
All right.
Speaker A
Bye.
Speaker B
Goodbye.
Speaker B
We all see the world through our own tiny keyhole, right?
Speaker B
Well, I thought if I could write a book that could capture what it's like to, to really meet somebody.
Speaker A
Were there ever a French young woman on a train you met and spent a night with?
Speaker A
Do you think they get back together in six months?
Speaker B
I've been, I've been thinking about this.
Speaker B
It's a good test, right, if you're a romantic or a cynic.
Speaker B
Hi.
Speaker A
Hello.
Speaker B
I can't believe you're here.
Speaker A
Well, I live here in Paris.
Speaker A
It's funny because I read an article on your book and it sounded vaguely familiar.
Speaker A
Did you show up in Vienna that December?
Speaker B
Uh, did you?
Speaker A
No, I couldn't, but did you?
Speaker A
Oh.
Speaker A
No.
Speaker A
Oh no, oh no.
Speaker A
Have you been hating me all this time? You have.
Speaker B
No.
Speaker A
So why didn't you put the six months later, the French bitch didn't show up?
Speaker B
No, but I did.
Speaker A
We can change our memory of that December 16th. It no longer has that sad ending of us never seeing each other again, right?
Speaker B
Now I'm older, my problems are deeper, but I'm more equipped to handle them.
Speaker B
I'm damn happy to be here.
Speaker A
Me too.
Speaker B
I want to know about you. Tell me, what are you doing, you know, what are you up to?
Speaker B
You were living in the US.
Speaker A
No.
Speaker B
Ah, don't tell me that, Celine.
Speaker A
What?
Speaker B
No, it's just, I've been living in New York since '98, you know, we were there at the same time.
Speaker A
In New York?
Speaker A
You're looking different.
Speaker B
I'd have to see you naked.
Speaker A
What?
Speaker B
I'm sorry.
Speaker A
It's amazing what perverts we've become in the past nine years.
Speaker B
I know.
Speaker A
What I, my point was, you know, to truly communicate with people is very hard to do.
Speaker A
There are so many things I want to do, and I end up doing not much.
Speaker B
I know.
Speaker A
That sounds, that sounds terrible.
Speaker A
No, no, no.
Speaker A
So you'll now be forever depressed no matter what great things happen in my life.
Speaker B
Exactly.
Speaker A
Right.
Speaker A
So I read in that article that you're married with a kid. That's great.
Speaker B
Yeah, he's, he's, um, he's four.
Speaker A
Do you, do you think Jesse?
Speaker B
Oh shit.
Speaker A
I left him in his car with the windows up. It was six months ago, you didn't know.
Speaker B
No, I'm kidding.
Speaker A
Each relationship when it ends really damages me. I never fully recover. You can never replace anyone because everyone is made of such beautiful specifics.
Speaker B
All right, now I know for sure. You want to know why I wrote that stupid book?
Speaker A
Why?
Speaker B
So that you might come to a reading in Paris and I could walk up to you and ask where the fuck were you?
Speaker B
Oh God.
Speaker B
Why weren't you there in Vienna?
Speaker B
I wish you would have been.
Speaker B
Our lives would have been so much different. Oh God, why didn't we exchange phone numbers and stuff? Why didn't we do that?
Speaker A
I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with.
Speaker A
Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times.
Speaker A
So, what is it like to be married? You haven't talked much about that.
Speaker A
How is she like?
Speaker B
She's a great teacher, good mom.
Speaker A
You're not that happy with your marriage, are you?
Speaker B
I'm not.
Speaker B
My wife is 24/7 bad.
Speaker A
I mean, I'm really happy only when I'm on my own. Even being alone, it's better than sitting next to a lover and feeling alone.
Speaker B
I've had sex less than ten times in the last four years.
Speaker B
What, what, what, are you laughing at me?
Speaker A
No.
Speaker A
I was fine until I read your fucking book. It reminded me how genuinely romantic I was, how I had so much hope in things, and now it's like, I don't believe in anything that relates to love. I don't feel things for people anymore.
Speaker A
In a way, I put all my romanticism into that one night and I was never able to feel all this again. Every single of my exes, they're now married.
Speaker B
I think I'm one of those guys.
Speaker A
You know, I want to kill them. But it's my fault. I know it's my fault because I never felt it was the right moment, never.
Speaker B
All right, you know what? I'm just happy to see you, even if you've become an angry, manic-depressive activist.
Speaker B
I still, I still enjoy being around you.
Speaker B
I mean, the only happiness I get is when I'm out with my son.
Speaker A
I'm so miserable in my love life, in my relationship. I always acted like, you know, I'm detached, but I'm, I'm dying inside.
Speaker A
You come here to Paris, all romantic and married, okay? Screw you.
Speaker B
So.
Speaker A
I want to try something.
Speaker B
What?
Speaker A
Vous allez vous chercher des glaces, on n'y passe pas une heure.
Speaker A
Oh, look at them, they're so cute.
Speaker A
Tu vas trop vite là.
Topics:Before TrilogyS.Thomasromantic dramatrain encounterlove and relationshipsViennaParismissed opportunitiesemotional connectionretrospective
