Before Sunrise is one of the most profound and compelling movies I have ever seen. The simple plot is about an American man (Ethan Hawke) who meets a Parisian girl (Julie Delpy) on a train as they travel through Vienna, Austria. The man is flying back to the U.S. the next morning and doesn’t have money for a hotel, so he plans to just walk around the city all night until it’s time to leave. He invites the Parisian girl to go along with him and all they do is walk around having the most incredible conversations and slowly falling in love until the sun comes up an they must inevitably part ways. This movie was made in 1995 and the sequel was not made until 2004. I cannot wait to see the sequel, titled Before Sunset, and would have gone crazy if I had seen this movie back in 㥧 and had to wait 9 years for the sequel just to find out what happened next.

This movie begins on a train where a German couple are having some kind of argument. There are no subtitles so you’ll have no idea what they are saying to each other, but you can tell it isn’t very nice. A young woman named Celine (Julie Delpy) is seated across from them and decides to move toward the back of the train to get away from the argument. She find an empty seat across from a young American man named Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and immediately catches his attention. They flirt and chat a bit, then go back to the dining cart to drink a little wine and talk more. This part set on the train goes on for about fifteen minutes, then they must part. Jesse is getting off in Vienna and Celine is riding all the way back home to Paris. Jesse leaves but then comes right back on and invites her to join him for an all-night romp in the city. She accepts, and the story continues.

The couple’s first encounter in the city takes place at a bridge. There they meet two odd Austrian men who are handing out fliers for some play they did about a guy in a cow suit. Through most of this movie, rather than visit any big landmarks, Celine and Jesse just meander around looking for small diners and clubs and for the interesting stuff you might not find in a travel brochure. They ride a trolley around and have a conversation that lasts for one extended take. They meet a poet down by the river and they visit a beautiful park. They stop for a little food and drink in a few small locations, all quiet and unique. They even convince a bartender to give them a bottle of wine with the promise that Jesse will send him payment when he gets back to the States.

What is so wonderful about this movie is that it is set in a place as beautiful as Vienna and yet the real beauty of the story is with the characters. In a way, I think putting these two people in a foreign location helps you focus more on them because they stand out against the rich Austrian backdrop. This entire film is about their conversations as they move throughout the city and slowly open themselves up to each other. While this may sound boring, it is not. I found these two characters to be so endearing and just so human that I fell in love with them. As the counter wound down on my DVD player, I actually felt my pulse quickening because I didn’t want this movie to end. I wanted to hear them talk more. I wanted to see the relationship grow more. I won’t tell you how exactly it all ends, but it definitely is a cliffhanger. I will be eagerly watching the sequel later this week.

The charisma between Hawke and Delpy will make you warm up to their characters very quickly. They both pull off incredible performances and their timing is impeccable. Their performances were so natural that I wonder how much of their dialogue was scripted and how much was improvised. I suspect it was a little bit of both because it flowed so well. There are many scenes in this movie where a single take may last several minutes long without any cuts. It was amazing to see these two actors to repeat as much dialogue as they did, combined with all the subtle facial expressions and body movements, and never once stutter or stumble.

Writer/director Richard Linklater co-authored this script with frequent collaborator Kim Krizan. It is a shame that this film was not nominated for any Oscars, though the sequel was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Linklater’s direction is flawless as he unfolds this incredible love story. He doesn’t use any kind of fancy lighting or camera tricks and instead just lets the camera play like an invisible third character closely following Hawke and Delpy around Vienna. I think the most brilliant aspect of the direction was how in the very end, when the morning had come and the two characters must part ways, Linklater shows us a series of short still shots of the various places where the scenes had taken place the night before. Only this time the places were empty. In less than one minute he pounds into your heart and soul all of the memories and joy that you just experienced from the previous hundred minutes.

In short, Before Sunrise is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I truly mean that. This is one of the most romantic and well-written movies I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch and is a far cry from all the typical dumb romantic comedies that guys like me are often forced to endure. This is true romance.

*** Special thanks to Skbreese for pointing out that I had posted this in the wrong place! ***

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie