Before Sunset

BEFORE SUNRISE, the 1995 film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, was a sweet, romantically inclined, philosophically laced gabfest that followed two strangers, Jesse and Celine, as they passed the time one evening in Vienna. Now the trio has reunited to pick up the story of those same characters some nine years later. Jesse is in Paris promoting the novel he wrote not so loosely based on that fateful night with Celine. She comes to see him, slightly peeved to be a pawn in his fiction, and the two immediately pick up where they left off. This time, however, instead of all night, they’ve only got 90 minutes. (Adding to the tension and sense of immediacy, Linklater tells the story in real time.) With Jesse’s departure drawing near and the chance of another reunion unlikely, they quickly drop any politesse and get to really talking. Eschewing trivialities of everyday small talk, the two dare to express their deepest dissatisfactions regarding their very separate lives. Both were obviously deeply affected by their earlier encounter, and now, given a second chance, they both have to decide what to do next. Written by Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke, BEFORE SUNSET is another loving, witty snapshot of two people stumbling towards maturity and self-discovery.

"A film that in its joy, optimism and aesthetic achievement keeps faith with American cinema at its finest." - Manohla Dargis, LOS ANGELES TIMES


"BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET are a rare case of two movies that rightfully demand yet another sequel." ~ David Denby, New Yorker magazine.