Review of Before Sunrise (1933) by Guido M — 28 Oct 2014

Two strangers meet in a train. They start to talk. They feel towards each other. They talk, they kiss, and in the morning, they say their painful goodbyes. In Linklater's beginning to the critically-acclaimed trilogy, "Before Sunrise" sets the standards for a european affair. For a night, we get to see the couple of young adults get to know each other, we get a peek at their conversations and at their relationship. It's a simple, short, bittersweet film that puts butterflies on your stomach every single shot.

Linklater plays masterfully, not only at capturing the city of Viena (Helped by cinematographer Lee Daniels) but also at capturing the freelance casualty of this relationship. The scenes are shot in streets, in cars, in restaurants, and they are always smooth, eye-popping and charming. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke have amazing chemistry, and are elevated by the masterful script by Linklater and co-writer Kim Krizan. In it, we get not only a heartfelt look at a different, more romantic kind of "One night stand" but also a deep character study: Jesse (Hawke) is a sort of yankee prick. He is childish in a loveable way, he is shy, he is insecure but he is also charming. Celine (Delpy) is an existential, sweet, gentile soul, and as we see how they connect through the night, the more painful it is to leave them behind.

They talk about marriage, about past relationships, about american and french culture, about feminism and machismo, about what will they do, what the future holds and what is the meaning of life itself. The cheesiness of it is what makes it so mature, so melancholic and at the same time funny. The wittiness reaches levels of unusal (if not unrealistic) heights, but Linklater keeps things feeling real.

The first entry of the saga is a smart, heartwarming glance at the romantic escapade of two very different people. They don't have much money (Although they go to 5 different restaurants in one single night) but they don't care. They don't know what to go see so they go see nothing. They just wander through the night, indulge in their words, and it is absolutely perfect.