Review: Before Sunrise (1995)

Directed by Richard Linklater

Starring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

The plot follows follows Jesse (Hawke), a young American man, and Céline (Delpy), a young French woman, who meet on a train and disembark in Vienna, where they spend the night walking around the city and getting to know each other.

After speaking to one of the members in the community, I have decided to watch and review Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy. I've been delaying these films for quite a while, and I believe this weekend is the best time to start watching and reviewing. So I saw Before Sunrise recently, and I have to say it was fantastic.

The plot, while very minimalistic, was simple and effective. Over the run-time, I have grown to like both characters and was interested in their backstory. I don't often like romance as a genre, but I found this one pretty good, and definitely better than most ones out there. Richard Linklater is often a director who loves to experiment with his films, and that is one thing I like and respect about him. Linklater always tries to venture out of his comfort zone when it comes to film-making, and that can be seen here and in his 2013 film Boyhood. That saying, Linklater's directing and writing (also co-written by Kim Krizan) was great, and I loved his approach making it a film of telling rather than showing, and that was easily accomplished with the film's great and genuine dialogue. The acting was genuine and phenomenally done by both Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. I loved the chemistry between them, their reactions, their responses, were all genuine and absolutely perfect, to the point I thought they were actually in love with each other (step aside Cooper and Gaga). I didn't even feel the pacing, became of how immersed I was in their adventure around town, and their conversations, backstories, perspectives on life and love, of which I have to admit, got me really excited to see the sequels.

The cinematography was great and colorful. I loved how the film took place in one setting, and how their conversation carry on to locations within the city, really making me feel like a tourist in this a new city. The use of music from the time was good as well, and fit in with the film.

In conclusion, a powerful well-written film with fantastic performances. A brilliant start to the trilogy, and I cannot wait to watch and review the sequels.

My rating: 9.0/10

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