I can't believe I waited so long to see these films! I had heard only good things about them, my mom had them on DVD, but for some reason I never got around to watching them until a couple days ago. And the romantic in me just DIED. So lovely!
In Before Sunrise, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meet on a train in Vienna. Sparks fly, he convinces her to join him in Vienna to spend one night talking and exploring the city before they have to leave each other. They fall in love, naturally, and we are left with an ending that both satisfies and leaves us expectant. What will happen to these two? Before Sunset, an almost perfect sequel taking place nine years later, answers that question.
I love films that take place in one moment. One city, one night. One perfect love story caught in time. Before Sunrise has a romance that perhaps wouldn't work in real life, in this world or in theirs. The characters (and the audience) have idealized it. Seeing the pair nine years later with their unhappy life experiences and bitterness shows us that maybe staying trapped in a perfect memory does more harm than good. But the very fact that these two found each other again has a magic in and of itself. Sometimes you just can't shake that special someone.
The acting from Hawke and Delpy is great, the chemistry is believable. Their romance is emotional but not cheesy, and despite the fact that these characters are talking about the universe and reincarnation and dreams, we feel like we know them and can relate in some way. I'm very happy that I finally watched these films and that they moved me so much. Long live cinema!
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