Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Following the 1991 low-budget, seminal indie classic Slacker and the 1993 70s stoner-comedy Dazed & Confused, Richard Linklater was become one of the 1990s premier American filmmakers. His exploration of youth and culture along with the world of slackers made him a hero for those disenfranchised with Hollywood films. While Linklater was proud of both films, the Austin Texas, self-taught filmmaker didn't want to repeat himself as a slacker director. In 1995, Linklater decided to make transition into something a bit more accessible but remaining in the confines of independent cinema by tackling a simple love story entitled Before Sunrise.
Written by Linklater and Kim Krizan, Before Sunrise tells the tale of an American student and a young Frenchwoman who meet on a train to Vienna as they spend the day and night exploring the city and themselves. Shooting the film on location with real time, Linklater chooses a bit of improvisation and exploration in what would become at that time, his most mature effort to date. For the roles of the American Jesse and the French Celine, Linklater chose two young actors who were already were getting respect and acclaim in American actor Ethan Hawke and French actress Julie Delpy. 10 years later since its release, Before Sunrise is a wonderful, enchanting romantic film that gets better with each viewing.
A older, German couple (Hanno Poschl and Andrea Eckert) is arguing as a young Frenchwoman named Celine moves her seat away from the arguing couple. Sitting across from her and listening to the arguing couple is an American named Jesse. Jesse notices Celine as the two begin a conversation about couples when they get older, they began to lose their hearing. The two young people move to the lounge car of the train where Celine has just left Budapest to visit her grandmother. Jesse is traveling for searching answers on his life. The two are in awe of what they have to talk about, especially when Jesse talks about his first lesson about death when he claims to have seen the ghost of his great-grandmother at age 3.
The train stops at Vienna where Jesse has to depart for America the next day while Celine herself, doesn't have anything to do. Jesse decides to spend the day with Celine as the two explore Vienna. They leave their belongings in the train locker as the two walk through the city. The two talk about their own lives as they meet up with a couple of Austrian men (Karl Bruckswaiger and Tex Rubinowitz) who ask them if they would come to a show. Jesse and Celine said they would as they continued to explore Vienna in their endless conversations about life and love. They come across a graveyard where Celine notices a girl that died at 13 and Celine reminds herself at how precious life is.
While Jesse admits to being a bit cynical when it comes to love because of his parents who didn't really like each other and finally, divorced. He admits, he's still hopeful for it while Celine seems to be more easy-going since her parents do love each other. She was however, shocked when her grandmother confessed that she had feelings for another man. They continue their journey, stopping at a record store and listen to a Kath Bloom record. During a stop to the fair, they go on a look-out Ferris wheel where they see the Danube river. After a wonderful conversation of love and hope, the two then talk about their own flaws. Celine admits her fear for death as the two meet a palm reader (Erni Mangold) who reads her fortunes about a life that is destined to be great but when she reads Jesse, she only confirms his cynicism.
Jesse's cynicism is revealed as he tells the truth of why he came to Europe. Celine reveals about her previous relationship that has ended in disaster and her problems with a shrink who called her a homicidal maniac. The two continue their talk as they meet a street poet (Dominik Castell) who asks them to come up with a word and he'll write a poem with that word. They came up with "milkshake" and the results is a deep poem. After a talk about genders that they stopped because they knew it wasn't getting anywhere, they begin to realize what this long conversation is leading up to. Realizing that a great moment in their life will end tomorrow, they want to know if they'll ever see each other again but that's another story.
If Slacker and Dazed & Confused the joy and irony surrounding youth, Before Sunrise offers a chance to explore all of that and more but with more hopeful results. Richard Linklater presents himself in a mature, earnest manner as he explores love in the age of Generation X. With co-writer Kim Krizan, the script is often improvisational but the subjects Jesse and Celine talk about are something that the audience can relate to. There’s never a dull moment in what they're talking about or the idea that they could be right or wrong. It's a very smart script that doesn't fall into the idea of traditional romantic comedies. Yes, they fall in love and yes, the audience wants to root for them but there's a whole lot more that Linklater provides, even in the ending that people hope for... but they had to wait 10 years for that outcome.
Linklater, in the directing field, goes for a more authentic, realistic look for the film by shooting everything on location in Vienna. Giving the film a realism but also a wondrous view of Vienna as if you're seeing the city for the very first time to the point that you’re almost there. There's an ease and restraint in what Linklater does as a director as he lets the actors go, give a bit of themselves into the part, and let the audience give their own interpretation.
Helping Linklater in the visuals are his longtime crew that included cinematographer Lee Daniels and editor Sandra Adair. The film moves at a nice, realistic pace as if you're spending that whole time in Vienna while the cinematography is exquisite in its look as it's shot on real-time. Even the clothing provided by costume designer Thierry Delettre looks realistic to the times. Even the choice of music ranging from classical to some obscure, singer-songwriter material is well-used as opposed to something more mainstream.
The film has a nice cast of characters that all have a moment like Erni Mangold as the palm reader, Dominik Castell as the street poet, the two Austrian artists, the arguing couple, a bartender played by Haymon Maria Buttinger, and a cameo from a sleeping Adam Goldberg. The heart and soul of the film are Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who brought a freshness and honesty of traditional film couples. Forget the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan love stories that were played throughout the 90s. Hawke/Delpy are the real onscreen couple of that decade by displaying hope and flaws that people can relate to. They don't meander into some strange, comedic situation or have the hopeful ending that people would want. Instead, what they offer is more profound as they let the audience get to know them within each subject they talk about, despite the fact that they’re very beautiful, eternally and internally.
Hawke gives a complex and likeable performance as the cynical yet charming Jesse who admits to his own flaws and failures while learning that he's got something to offer. Hawke, who was then-typecasted as the brooding but cute grunge actor brings a level of maturity that even his younger female fans would be surprised by. Delpy also shows her flaws as a somewhat neurotic and spiritual person who wants to find hope yet knows the realism of things. In many ways, Hawke is the cynicism of the story and Delpy is the optimist yet both find ways to learn about each other. There’s some funny moments and romantic moments to offer that are real and gives hope to a lot of couples.
When Before Sunrise hit theaters in 1995, the film was a modest box office hit but a huge critical hit as Linklater won the Silver Bear prize at the 1995 Berlin Film Festival for Best Director. After its run in the theaters, the film became a bigger hit on TV and video as it eventually became one of the best romantic films of the 1990s. What is more surprising now is that, even after the recent release of the more mature 2004 sequel Before Sunset, how young Hawke and Delpy were and full of hope. Yet, in the core of both films is that story of two people trying to figure about love and hopefully in 2014-2015, we can revisit them again. Maybe somewhere like Austin or Berlin.
Before Sunrise is an enigmatic, enchanting film from Richard Linklater and company with the soulful, endearing performances of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The film remains innocent in its subject matter and realistic dialogue while it offers young couples a chance to see if they have hope for love. Fans of Linklater and this film will no doubt want to revisit this after the more superior sequel of Before Sunset to see what they learned from that film and see if Jesse and Celine ever did make it and is there hope for them yet again. For a film that is very upbeat with a sense of realism and love, Before Sunrise is the film to see.
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