Before Sunset

Release Year: 2004

Director: Richard Linklater

Review: Set nine years after the original, this is an interesting sequel.  Not only is it nine years in film time, it was also nine years between films.  The sequel finds Jesse on a book tour promoting his book which he wrote about his encounter with Celine.  Having heard about the book, Celine approaches him right before his plane leaves, giving them yet again, just a little bit of time to connect.

There is a lot of similarity between the two movies.  Its all dialog.  Set in real time, the film is basically a single conversation between the two.  It's enrapturing to watch the two reconnect.  From the first the awkward tension of first seeing each other again, to catching up, to intimately talking as if they had known each other the entire time, to the final, perfectly toned, ending.  Its a beautifully crescendo, creating a wonderful pace which, while almost completely dialog, never feels drawn out.

After the first film the question was whether or not the two actually ended up meeting each other.  Depending on how you answered determined if you were a romantic or a cynic.  This film feels much more rooted.  It's no longer two kids having a romantic adventure.  They are well into adulthood and have experienced both love and the loss of love.  Their connection now brings up a new, more important question: is there true love?  Are Jesse and Celine soul mates, who despite their current lives need each other?  It's this question which is presented, and why this makes such a fantastic sequel.  It still may boil down to romantic versus cynic, but the stakes are higher.  It is a beautifully executed movie, and a perfect companion piece to the first film.

Rating: 4.5/5