CELINE

    Americans always think Europe is perfect. But such beauty and history can be really oppressive. It reduces the individual to nothing. It just reminds you all the time you are just a little speck in a long history, where in America you feel like you could be making history. That’s why I like Los Angeles because it is so…

    JESSE

    Ugly?

    CELINE

    No, I was going to say “neutral”. It’s like looking at a blank canvas. I think people go to places like Venice on their honeymoon to make sure they are not going to fight for the first two weeks of their marriage because they’ll be too busy looking around at all the beautiful things. That’s what people call a romantic place — somewhere where the prettiness will contain your primary violent instinct. A real good honeymoon spot would be like somewhere in New Jersey.

KRIZAN, K.; LINKLATER, R. Before Sunrise: screenplay. New York: Vintage Books, 2005.