Rating of
4/4
Before Sunset review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/20/11
A rare sequel that surpasses the brilliance of its predecessor. This was just perfection, authentic and well-paced. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meets again after their encounter 9 years ago in Vienna. Jesse promotes his bestselling novel This Time in a books store in Paris where Celine was waiting for him to finish promoting. They stroll and converse to catch up with lost time and revealing how their lives have evolved. Authentic and proficiently executed camera work makes you feel a part of their conversations. The soundtrack was pertinent depending on the mood of the scene and Delpy and Hawke manages to convince that the flame was never lost. I thoroughly enjoyed this better than Before Sunrise not only because of the characters maturity, added humor, and scenic locations but also the triumvirate efforts (Richard Linklater, Hawke and Delpy) of creating the screenplay that in my opinion surpasses the magic it had in the first film. The screenplay was nominated in the Academy Awards, which could have won because it was just so engaging.
A few noteworthy quotes from the film which I really loved: Jesse – “Now I'm older and my problems are deeper, but I'm more equipped to handle them.” “Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we wouldn't learn a thing.” “We're just living in a pretense of a marriage, responsibility and all these ideas of how people are supposed to live.” Celine – “Memories are wonderful things, if you don't have to deal with the past.” There are so many things I want to do, but I end up doing not much.” Numerable themes of relationships, the world’s situation, jaded ideas, regrets, choices, maturity, life’s perception, the past and living in the present were well exhibited. Before Sunset is one of the most realistic, provocative and romantic films produced without being cheesy, forced or having an actual kiss.
