This is inevitably going to be compared to Before Sunrise, the 1995 Linklater film about a girl and boy who meet on the road and spend the film walking and talking about the inane, self-absorbed, philosophical things that young strangers in their 20s talk about. I loved Before Sunrise, but watching it again after decades I was struck by how heavy-handed and affected, albeit charming, it felt, how much the actors felt like movie stars rather than average people.
"303" feels utterly natural, unaffected. The leads are attractive (of course) but their portrayal of the frailties and warmth of two random strangers who find themselves unexpected travelling companions is believable and sympathetic. This is a film about two people in their 20s talking. The conversations are in turns inane, thoughtful, philosophical, naive, imbued with a sense of self-uniqueness and import that is the nature of being in your 20s. There is drama as well on this journey, but it is low key and ultimately isn't the point. The journey is the point.
Where "303" loses a star or two is that it never really pushes boundaries. It is what it seems to be, no more and no less. That's still pretty great.
