Before Sunset
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Movie Reviews of Before Sunset
Movie Review: Ecstatic
Summary: 5 Stars
Paris, 2003. Jesse, an American writer in his early 30s, is signing books and giving a talk at Shakespeare & Company, the famed Parisian bookseller that first printed "Ulysses" in 1922. The book chronicles a one-night stand nearly a decade earlier that he just can't get out of his mind. As he is about to finish, he locks eyes for a moment on a particular face in the stacks: Celine, the woman he met nine years before on a summer night in Vienna. For anyone who has seen and loved BEFORE SUNRISE, the film chronicling that meeting, the moment of recognition in this sequel comes as an all-time great moment in cinema...five minutes in, and I knew I was in the presence of greatness.
Celine and Jesse go for a cup of coffee at a café, traversing a half-dozen windy, ancient Parisian streets, and they talk about careers and education, what has led them to this place. Interestingly enough, the dialog was largely scripted by the actors, and they both express (non-acting) interests that mirror the real lives of Hawke (a successful novelist) and Delpy (an environmental activist and musician who has recorded a couple of albums); they also play to their ages and they play characters that are reasonably successful in the outward sense, so a great aura of realism is maintained with little effort. This allows the dialog to ebb and flow, to continue easily for the 80 minute duration of this real-time walk through the streets and gardens of Paris, through life, career, love, lust, politics.
And it all may seem very boring to you, if what you expect is "drama" and "event"; if you expect your romances to be full of sex and unbelievable situations and jealousy and hysteria. BEFORE SUNSET is 80 minutes of two very intelligent, articulate people reacquainting themselves with each other, reawakening to youthful aspirations and romantic hopes that they assumed were withering. It's a paean to French ideals and American excesses, to Paris and to music and to architecture and literature, all conveyed in the expressions and words of two hopeless romantics and in the passion their director has for the noble idea, so rarely practiced, of the importance and power of each day, each hour, each minute of life.
I'm going on a bit perhaps, but I cannot think of a more "real", knowing film about love, about the lost past and the hopeful future than this minimalist tour through the eyes of a brazen Texan and a talkative Parisian. It's easy for me to fall in love with actresses, but Julie Delpy is simply unbelievable here and I've rarely felt more jealous in a movie than I did of Ethan Hawke (who I rarely like, but is as perfect here as he was in the earlier film).
There are many wonderful allusions to film history in this hour and a third but the most potent is the short cruise down the Seine near the end, which brings to mind most obviously two of the most romantic and expressionist films in French history, Vigo's L'ATALANTE (1934) and Carax' LES AMANTS DU PONT NEUF (1991). I was wondering if this film would end there, but instead the couple detours to Celine's apartment for the stunning, very appropriate finale.
Along with it's predecessor, one of the very greatest films about falling in love - an re-falling - in the history of cinema.
Movie Review: Lovely Film... As Magical as the First... Fine DVD from Warner
Summary: 5 Stars
I avoided watching this sequel until now, mainly because I didn't want to spoil the magic of "Before Sunrise". Despite the open-ending of the first film, I always expected the couple to meet again for their promised Christmas in Vienna. So to me the first film had a decidedly happy ending. "Before Sunset" of course is based on the premise that they didn't. Still I wasn't disappointed. "Before Sunset" is a lovely film, as beautiful as the first and ends on a suitably ambiguous and equally optimistic note. Filmed in real time, and taking place 9 years after the first film, it shows the pair meeting again, this time in Paris, the City of Love. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is now a successful writer on a book tour promoting his latest bestseller, an autobiography based on their one night in Vienna. Celine (Julie Delpy) of course lives in Paris and comes to his book-signing. They have one lovely summer afternoon together before he has to fly back to America. Like the previous film they spend it walking, chatting, flirting, teasing and now reminiscing, as Celine takes him through the beautiful streets of her home city, including a picturesque boat trip down the Seine. Watching the film is like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes, or as others have said, like meeting and catching up with old friends again. The whole film is a single long chat as they reveal how their lives turned out, why they didn't meet before this, what might have been, and rekindle the romantic spark that came to life 9 years ago. The dialogue is witty and always engaging and you never want it to end. The chemistry between the pair is as palpable and electric as it was 9 years ago. All throughout you long for them to stay together.
The script was written by Richard Linklater in collaboration with both actors which might explain the close affinity the actors have for their roles and the deep chemistry they exhibit. It's like they are not acting at all; as if we were given the privilege of eavesdropping on two close friends deep in an intimate conversation. Absolutely delightful. Can't wait to see them in another 9-10 years as they recount what has happened since. That would be a treat indeed. Both actors have aged visibly but they wear the years well and it's nice to see actors who don't try to disguise their age onscreen. It adds immeasurably to the realism of these characters.
The film is presented in a modified form to perfectly fit the new 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen TV. It is not in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 contrary to what is stated on the backcover. The picture looks fine and I couldn't detect any major composition problems. Colours are fairly strong and natural. Black levels are accurately set with good detail in the darker scenes. The DVD comes with the obligatory theatrical trailer. There is a also short but treasurable 10-minute "On the Set" featurette with the director and 2 stars talking about their collaboration in making the film and how they wove their own life expeiences into their characters' fictional lives. Good to know that another sequel is still possible 9 to 10 years down the line. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Movie Review: Julie Delpy gets emotional with Ethan Hawke.
Summary: 5 Stars
I rented Before Sunrise just one week before I saw Before Sunset in the theater. I was so glad that I didn't see the prequel 9 years ago, otherwise it would've been a long wait for the Sunset. I'd enjoyed Sunrise very much, because it was a trully original romantic movie without the formulas and big sets used by Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, and Reese Witherspoon. It was a beautiful story about love at first sight. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy gave very natural performances as if they were "living" in this movie.
There were many funny and touching moments filled with introspective dialogues that worked perfectly for this documentary-style film. I've never quite enjoyed Ethan Hawke until Before Sunrise. He was funny and charming, which was very different from his action roles. Julie Delpy may not have been the most memorable star of Three Colours: Blue(Juliette Binoche), Red(Irene Jacobs), and White(Julie Delpy), because Zbigniew Zamachowski stole the movie. Before Sunrise was the perfect vehicle for her to play a young French woman who is sexy, naive, and vulnerable. She carried through the film with a flawless performance.
Sunrise left me wondering what would happen to Jesse(Ethan Hawke) and Celine(Julie Delpy). Did they see each other again after 6 months when they departed at the train station?
In Before Sunset, Celine showed up at the book store in Paris where Jesse was doing a promotion for his novel that was based on his half-day experience with a French girl in Vienna 9 years ago. They went for coffee, a walk on the streets of Paris, and a boat ride on the river. They had some serious catching up to do before they had to say goodbye at Sunset. Jesse was very disappointed that Celine didn't showed up on their second date, because her grandmother died that week. unfortunately, they never reconnected again, because they didn't have each other's number. Even though Celine had lived in New York for a year, they never ran into each other. Jesse got married and has a son, but for years he never stopped thinking about Celine. As for Celine, she had her share of bad boyfriends over the years, and she regretted for not going to meet Jesse.
It was very eomotionally impacting to see Celine on the verge of crying when she was riding in the car with Jesse. They both wanted each other so badly, and wished they could have another chance. It was amazing to see Hawke and Delpy delivering intense dialogues that was 5-10 minutes long in one take. The whole movie was shot in real time, so it fell like I was following them for 80 minutes throughout the movie.
Celine invited Jesse back to her place for tea. She sang him a song that had his name in it, and did her little Nina Simone impersonation while she was making the tea. Jesse smiled with amusement and deep down he was wondering when they'll be together again. And I wonder if they'll be another episode to this unfinished love story.
Movie Review: Talky but touching sequel
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1995, a small, unpretentious movie starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy became something of a cult hit. The movie was "Before Sunrise" and followed an American tourist and a French college student for a day in Vienna. The movie was slight, and nothing really happened, but it was more realistic and less "Hollywood" than most of the slick, overproduced "romantic comedies." The movie ended with Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) parting at the train station, and promising to meet in 6 months.
Nine years later, director Richard Linklater created "Before Sunset." Jesse and Celine, like their actor counterparts, have aged noticeably. They meet again when Jesse is on a booksigning tour in Paris, and the camera follows them around in "real time" as they try to catch up before Jesse catches his flight back the the U.S. Jesse is now married with a son, and Celine is an environmental activist.
As the title suggests, the meeting this time between Jesse and Celine is more bittersweet. They're both still very talky, but there's an air of awkwardness. Hawke and Delpy are excellent at portraying the stilted embarrassment of a meeting between ex-lovers. The stars reportedly wrote much of the script themselves, and I can believe it: many lines seem improvised or ad-libbed. Jesse's novel is supposedly semi-autobiographical, and this movie feels semi-autobiographical also. At one point, Jesse says, "I feel like I'm running a small nursery with someone I used to date." With Hawke's recent divorce from Uma Thurman, it;s hard not to consider this a personal statement from the actor himself.
The low-budget feel is both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, it's refreshing for two characters to smile at each other without a drippy ballade playing in the soundtrack. On the other hand, those looking for a more conventional storyline will be disappoiinted. Since the movie is completely these two characters walking around Paris and talking, it is a little slow. And occasionally it comes across as overearnest; Jesse talks way too much about "living in moments." And lines like "Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything" are bound to cause some eyes to roll.
Nevertheless, Jesse and Celine grew on me, and it's one of "Before Sunset's" charms that as the time comes for Jesse to catch that plane, I grew as antsy and moody as Celine. Hawke and Delpy have wonderful chemistry. They seem to really like their characters, and each other. Like Celine, I wondered why true romance is often seen as so "unrealistic" as one grows over. And not to give anything away, but I loved how the ending was completely ambiguous. Jesse and Celine obviously dont want to leave each other, but after all, they do have separate lives. I don't know if there will be a sequel to "Before Sunset," but these two movies portrayed romance in an intelligent, touching way that wasn't at all Hollywood.
Movie Review: Only one major beef with a great film ...
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I finally had to weigh in on Before Sunset. Along with Before Sunrise, it is an outstanding film and probably the stronger of the two for the genuine honesty that is expressed throughout. You really can believe that two people would actually talk and feel the way these characters do.
Here's my only beef with the story... I had a tough time swallowing Celine's excuse for making no attempt to contact Jesse at the train station where they were supposed to have met after the first film. Sure, I know her grandmother died and they didn't have each other's phone numbers, etc., but isn't this the same grandmother Celine described in the first film as having lost the love of her life and accepting her "fate".
I can't believe that her parents, assuming she confided in them, wouldn't have helped her work something out to see Jesse and maybe even have him come along to Budapest with her late to the funeral. At the very least she could have called the train station and paid a messenger of some sort to look for him and get a message to him. She appeared the most eager, until Jesse's short speech at the end of the first film, to actually connect again. If they were as in love as they appeared to be, which the second film confirms, I can't imagine Celine not doing everything she could to try and make contact with him. If not in person, at least with a message. My wife even commented that she would have made the effort to find me given similar circumstances.
Yes, yes, I know it's just a movie and they had to come up with some type of situation to explain why there was no connection on that day nine years ago. I probably could have bought it more if Celine had tried to get a message to him at the station and the messenger was unable to get it to him or missed him somehow. That would have added some great dialogue to the script and given Jesse at least the knowledge that she had tried, as he had. It still would have been tragic, but would have made better sense with how in love they had been.
Other than that this is a great film. It's just that when a movie comes across as so realistic and honest, the one major detail on which the whole story hinges could have been made more believable without taking anything away from the rest of the story just as it is.
Should they do another movie with a messy, but happy ending? Of course they should.
If I had my way they would end the next movie arm in arm, looking at each other smiling, walking down a Parisian street at sunset with the James Taylor version of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" playing in the background as the shot freezes and the credits roll.
I know, I know, a bit "hokey", but hey... without the romantics of this world it would be a dark and dreary place indeed.