BEFORE SUNRISE ANNIVERSARY REVIEW
Film: Before Sunrise
Released: 1995
Rated: R
Anniversary: 30th
Genre: Romance, Drama
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater - Kim Krizan
Starring: Ethan Hawke - Julie Delpy
Plot: A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise
Ratings: (Current as of this posting)
Letterboxd: 4.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% Audience / 100% Critic
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks out of 5.
Tagline: Can the greatest romance of your life last only one night?
Every great story starts with trying to answer a question, and the above is the one Richard Linklater proposes in his seminal romance Before Sunrise. Premiering theatrically in the US on January 27th, 1995, this simple in scope and big in sentiment R-rated film has become a cult classic in the cinema world. It is the start of one the highest rated trilogies, with it’s sequels being Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). While this film may not be for everyone, it is no doubt one of the most significant romances to grace our screens.
Taking place over the course of one night, we join Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy), strangers who meet on a train. Jesse, deciding to go shoot his shot, asks Céline to join him at his stop, as he has no lodging and will need to stay up and hang around Vienna til his next train in the morning. To his luck, Céline is as intrigued with him as he is with her, and forgoes the rest of her train ride to join him. So, the adventure begins.
The mix of exploring a new city (especially one as beautiful as Vienna), staying up through the night, and navigating the butterflies that comes with spending time alone with that person you have undeniable chemistry with, creates a quiet magic that fuels the foundation of this venture. Not much happens in way of plot in the usual way. We simply follow two strangers as they walk, sit, play, and mostly, talk. The power of this story lies in the words being said, and maybe more importantly, on when nothing is being said at all.
A pivotal scene is the listening booth in the record store. No words between our couple, only soft, sneaking glances at one another when the other isn’t looking, and this is where both Hawke and Delpy shine. Infatuation and tenderness wells in their eyes, affection for one another obvious and subtle all at once. This is the gentle intimacy that carries throughout the film.
Céline and Jesse in the recording booth
The writing is deep and yet not overly sappy, realistic for our young, intelligent couple who almost have no reserves as they know they will never see each other again, which only can allow the love between them to grow deeper. Our couple is not overly likable nor are they easy to hate. Our lead actors are attractive and not overly so, able to blend in and also show why one would be attracted to the other so quickly. As this is from the mid-nineties, there is a no screens, boots-on-the-ground focus that works so well when you are following around a couple for more than an hour and a half as nothing happens to them except each other.
I imagine before this film had it’s first sequel, the overall melancholy to the film was denser, as we are reminded throughout that this is it. They will most likely never see each other again after this, both realistically understanding that they have lives to go back to, thousands of miles away from each other. While we know now that the couple does meet again in due time because of the two follow ups, it still manages to hold that tension, that suspense that maybe one will join the other, leaving everything behind.
Jesse and Céline pretending to talk to their friends on the phone so they can tell each other what they think of one another is one of my favorite scenes (image edited to show them both)
It was personally my first time watching this film. It kept creeping up in lists about great films, even in a Top Ten about the best film trilogies of all time, so when it was celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this January, it made for an easy excuse to watch it.
It is not perfect, and it is still excellent and achieves it’s goal of making us care about the relationship between Jesse and Céline, and the always charming Ethan Hawke and the captivating Julie Delpy are perfect guides for our almost dreamlike journey through Vienna. I look forward to eventually seeing how their lives intertwine again in the sequels.
Happy 30th Anniversary, Before Sunrise!
