Directed by : Richard Linklater
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381681/

This one is less romantic, and takes more of a realistic way.. still full of engaging conversations.



When you are young, you just believe there will be many people with whom you will connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times. 


Before Sunrise ended with a montage of all the places where Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) went to in Vienna, and a soft background piece runs with it. Did they meet after 6 months or not, was the question left unanswered...

Richard this time puts the montage right at beginning, showing us all the places both Jesse and Celine are going to walk around, with a fitting background song. Jesse is in Paris for the reading of his book which is about that one night with Celine in Vienna. Just as he is answering questions of press, suddenly appears a smiling woman standing beside the door, i.e Celine .. and they both happen to meet finally after 9 years which in their conversation later they reveal that they didnt meet as planned.

Unlike the 1st part, what I found missing in this film was the romance. By that I don't mean that Jesse and Celine didn't look like a good couple. But, now their weak points came out much more (I will talk more about it in Before Midnight post). Like Celine asking if her looks changed, Jesse honestly answered and Celine little, just a little freaked out. Or when Jesse told the world aint a mess, how Celine gets hyper to claim what she said was right. Then, there's the car scene where she lets all her anger out and almost accuses Jesse that her current suffering or whatever life she lives now is only due to him for giving her that one romantic night she couldn't forget.

I have no problems with the behaviour Celine shows, only thing is that this made her look slightly vulnerable and less lovable. She mentions how many relationships she has been through, and mentally it took a lot out of her.. maybe that brought such a change. Interesting to note is that scene where Jesse says that he loves her company still despite all the anger and maniac kind of woman she has become now. He's happy to be around her however she has changed in those 9 years.. just doesn't matter to him. Maybe director could had changed something about Jesse character too, if you compare both characters in two films, Jesse would still appear the same.. atleast thats how it looked to me.

Also, the conversations are at times regular and non-interesting topics. Like the social life Celine talks about. I missed those astrological, guy saying poem, phone game, q&a.. In short, this one had no scope for all that. As the characters have matured, changed and have their own partners. That made it look realistic and take away that touch, which comes in only one frame and it was the last one where Jesse is looking at Celine closely sitting at a couch, she is dancing and saying 'baby, you are going to miss the plane'. She isn't warning her, she is telling her you will miss it for me, and Jesse too answers 'I know, I will not go'. He was never interested to leave, he just wanted to be there with her, finding excuses to travel, take ship trip, asking to drop her or listen to her song. He even refers to it when he asks Celine 'He knows where he's going ?', Celine says 'Yes' and he says 'Glad, somebody does'.  He isn't sure while all those conversations are going that what he is about to do would be right, because he is married and has a son.. but he knows he lives a unhappy married life.

Another problem for me was the runtime, it ends too sooner. 117 mins is too short, why didnt they made it atleast of similar time as last if not long. The impact is still there, but its like when you watch something nice you want it to not end too quickly. I would had prefered this ending only though, its left to viewers to decide just like Jesse says in beginning.. if you are romantic you would say he didn't take flight, a cynic,then he took flight and if confused then you are asking it to me. I guess I am the romantic one.

For me the best moments of the film were, when Jesse is narrating what his new book could be about in the reading, he is telling about the person who is in both the moments, and just then Celine appears at the book store. Its like director wanted to use that new book story as reference to Jesse and Celine. Also, how Jesse lies to Celine at first, that he also didn't show up 6 months later at Vienna. The conversation about memories, love, breakup, dreams.. were very meaningful like 1st part. Also, at many places Jesse is looking right at her when she's not talking. And that moment is chosen in this film too where there's a long silence after Celine says something too deep, its the scene where they are on ship and she tells that she likes to see little details in the people, and she misses them the most later.


If given a choice, I would prefer to see Before Sunrise over Before Sunset.. it sounds wierd coming from me. I usually opt to watch realistic romantic movies, this one is very realistic but that romance of Before Sunrise just isn't there. Or maybe after 5-10 years, my choice may change..  Before Sunset is still a very good movie, but less romantic for me.