Before Sunrise (8 out of 10)
Before Sunset (9 out of 10)
(Read the first two paragraphs, and if the films sound good to you, I would recommend stop reading the reviews until you've watched both films.)
Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, taken together, is in my top five romantic films of all-time. And really you should see these films together. You certainly wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the second film if you didn’t see the first.
Like Mindwalk and My Dinner with Andre, the action takes between two people talking about different topics like parents, relationships, and the meaning of life, except while the protagonists in Mindwalk and My Dinner with Andre were a poet, a physicist, a politician and theater people, the protagonists in Sunrise and Sunset are twenty-something, "slackers."
They're intelligent, but their conversion is not as cerebral as the protagonists in the other films. The characters share their thoughts and reflections on these issues, and find a connection with each other in the process. If you’re the type of person that likes to sit around and think about things, just think if you found someone you could share those thoughts with. That alone is very romantic.
What I liked about these films is that they focus on the conversations between the two characters. What makes this film different from the two other films I've seen by director Richard Linklater (Slacker and Waking Life) is that the conversations are interesting and amusing, and they serve a larger purpose: we experience the characters falling in love through their conversations. Think of When Harry Met Sally. One of the reasons I like that film is that we actually witness the two characters falling in love—much of the essence of that process occurs in the dialogue. So too with these Sunrise and Sunset films.
The setting of the films—Vienna in the first film and Paris in the second—add to the romance, of course. The two characters converse while walking on cobblestoned streets, riding in boats, sitting down in public squares or lying in the park.
The circumstances in both films also make the films romantic. In Sunrise, the two characters only have one day to spend with each other, and then he must leave. The short duration heightens the sense of romance and intensifies the feelings. The end is in sight, and the more they enjoy themselves, the more poignant (and romantic, in a tragic sense) will be their departure from one another.
In addition, and this sentiment may not be very romantic, but you can have a great relationship with anyone in one day. The thrill of meeting someone, and the freshness of getting to know that person—without experiencing the faults and other qualities that may ultimately rule out a long-term relationship—adds to the romance of the situation.
The audience also has a similar kind of experience. We (particularly the more critical of us) can put aside questions of realism because this moment in their relationship occurs before "real life" sets in. For example, Jesse and Celine don't have to deal with conflicts about money, , taking each other for granted or experiencing annoying quirks and habits of the other person. (In Sunrise they even have a conversation about this.) How would these characters relate to each other in a real life context? We--and the filmmakers--are spared from having to answer this question because the film takes place at the most romantic--most impervious to the challenges of every day life--period in a relationship. The guarenteed short duration of their interaction makes this a relationship that will live on in one’s mind as a great romance. Indeed, this is exactly what Jay Gatsby does with Daisy in The Great Gatsby.
(BIG TIME SPOILERS)
Unlike Gatsby, however, Jesse finds that there is something real there in the relationship he had with Celine. The second film, Before Sunset, reveals this. If it’s romantic to relive the relationship in the idealistic setting of one’s mind, it’s even more romantic to reunite with that special person, and find that romance in the real world!
I was a bit apprehensive about the second film. The challenge of not ruining this film, let alone make it good, was significant. I’m happy to say that the filmmakers succeeded in a big way. The chemistry between the two characters are still there. Unlike the first film, the characters and relationship is already established. We just need to see if the magic is still there, and in the first meeting it is.
The second film is filled with all kinds of circumstances that anyone in Jesse’s or Celine’s position after their meeting would fantasize and daydream about: what if Jesse returns to Vienna, and Celine is not there. But then what she really wanted to be there, but couldn’t because of a tragic ? What if Jesse got married and had a child. But then what if he’s not in love with her (even though he loves his son dearly), and has dreams about Celine? This is a separated lover's ultimate fantasy film, and it’s the tragic and sad elements of the situations that make these circumstances deliciously romantic.
Writing this may make the film seem incredibly sappy and silly, but, for me, it was not. I guess, I really bought into their relationship. That didn’t happen instantly for me, either. Ethan Hawke didn’t seem really comfortable or natural delivering funny lines. In the first film he even takes on the cadence and mannerisms of Woody Allen. Julie Delpy also had a Diane Keaton vibe going, and I have to believe they had Annie Hall and Manhattan on their minds. (I could imagine Linklater saying to think of those films in some of the scenes.) Another connection with Diane Keaton is that Julie Delpy sings in this one, and, wow, I was blown away. In fact, she write and sings some of the songs on the soundtrack.
But after a while, I got into the relationship. I got to see them interact and be around each other, and through that process I believed they had something.
The other pitfall Linklater successfully avoided, imo, was the ending. How was he going to end this? Time is running out. Jesse needs to catch his plane, and return to his wife and child. Just as the film manages to avoid the showing the way these characters would deal with an everyday relationship, the film avoids showing specifically the way these characters will deal with the ultimate challenges they face. When Celine tells Jesse that he'll miss his flight, he just smiles and says he knows. We get a look from Celine and that.s it. My initial reaction was a sense of disappointment. But when I thought about, the ending is in keeping with the rest of the film. The film focuses on the most ideal setting for a couple--safe from the difficulties of real life relationship. Larri also quickly pointed out to me that the ending fits with the begining when one of the journalists asks Jesse if the couple in his novel ever get together. His answer is that the answer largely determines what type of person you are: a cynic or a romantic. The film also has the same ambiguity and therefore the same type of propostion for the audience. Do Jesse and Celine actually get together and have a happy life? It depends on if you're a cynic or a romantic.