Review of Before Sunrise (1995) by Shawne ~ — 16 Jun 2013

[b]Before Sunrise[/b] is a simple, poetic distillation of the essence of romance. On a cross-Europe train ride, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Celine (Julie Delpy), and as they talk and impulsively jump off the train together to walk around Vienna for a day, they discover a connection so startlingly deep and touching that they fall in love knowing that they must part in the morning.

The movie camera does little more than follow Jesse and Celine on their extended date through the beauty of Vienna by night--they talk about anything and everything: first loves, heartbreaks, men and women. They get on each other's nerves, briefly, visit a cemetery full of unknown ghosts, and wrestle with their growing desire to meet each other again. It's lovely to watch, considering how easily the film could have been boring and pretentious with its protagonists making pseudo-intellectual chatter throughout (as Hawke's character wryly observes at one point). And yet, it's surprisingly real and heartbreakingly sweet, including the people they meet along the way--such as the poetic bum or the kind-hearted bartender.

One of my favourite scenes would have to be when Celine initiates a phone conversation with her friend, played by Jesse. As they hold their hands to their faces, pretending to speak into telephones while facing each other across a table, they reveal first impressions and secret thoughts, and find out new things about each other. It's sweet, yet real, and so... ordinary. But beautiful nonetheless. Hawke has a tiny moment when his character forgets, and his hand slips to cup his chin, entranced by Celine. But he quickly recovers himself and gets back on the phone... part of their charade, their little game of falling more in love with each step they take.

[b]Before Sunrise[/b] is a small, elegant picture that says more with its tiny cast and budget than a lot of films these days. I'm much looking forward to its sequel.