Review of Before Sunrise (2005) by Tommy 'See The Treasure' S — 10 Mar 2014

Truman Capote once said that due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet. In the first of Richard Linklater's acclaimed trilogy, two intelligent talkers meet, and fall in love in Vienna. Due to circumstance and time I made the choice of watching this trilogy in reverse. Strangely enough I don't think this really harmed the overall experience. After much consideration, I've decided that this is my favourite movie of the trilogy. I have my reasons.

Firstly, I really love Vienna. It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the perfect backdrop for a mature romance story. I also like that in this movie, the beloved main characters Jesse and Céline(Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy), are probably at their most naïve and idealistic. That isn't to say that they are fools in love or anything, but they are completely enamoured with having found what they believe to be a kindred spirit on this earth. I should first introduce the characters though. Jesse is a smart and talented American who is basically drifting aimlessly across Europe, when on one fateful day he meets on the train an interesting, witty and conscientious French girl name Céline. After speaking only a short while they form a special connection, to such an extent that Céline spontaneously defies her previous plans to get off the train with Jesse in Vienna.

One might feel that having seen the rather bleak final movie 'Before Midnight' beforehand may have given this one a slightly sad spin, but that's not really the case. What I know about the future versions of these characters does not dampen the sense of wonder and discovery that pervades the characters in this movie. It was interesting, though, seeing the initial little conflicts between the characters that reach an explosive peak in the final movie. As the couple do speak a lot together, they do run into some disagreements, but they are generally too smitten with one another to make too big deal about them.

The principle theme that runs through the trilogy is probably the conflict between fate and chance. Both characters create this circumstance for themselves. Céline decided to cut off her plans and spend the day in Vienna with Jesse. However, both characters have a romantic streak about them and they describe their time together as somewhat unreal and dreamlike. There is a great scene where the couple are walking the lamplit streets and they are stopped by a Viennese beggar and poet. He offers to write them a poem which would contain any word they choose. They choose 'milkshake.' The shaggy-haired poet composes a quite lovely poem that seems to say something profound and meaningful about Jesse and Céline's budding relationship, and sure enough it contains the word 'milkshake'. The scene might have been a little sappy and contrived, were it not for Jesse's contemplation soon after that the poet probably plugs in whatever word is chosen into a pre-written poem. The scene highlights that Jesse, while a touch romantic, has an obstinate intelligence about him he is not willing to break. While Céline seems a bit more naïve she is no less intelligent than Jesse. Neither character is misty-eyed with love but neither character is a hardened cynic either.

There are many reasons to love this movie. Firstly It's hard to think of a movie with more fully realized and interesting characters. I know it's a cliche to say but it really does feel like observing real people. Hawke and Delpy both give brilliant performances and the dialogue in this movie is simply wonderful. It's brilliantly shot by Linklater. He uses the historical and cultural beauty of Vienna as a stage for his characters yet, thankfully, he resists from any pointless, extraneous shots of the city or coming off like a tourist guide to the Austrian capital. This is a rare, mature romantic movie and I loved every minute of it. 10/10.