Before Sunset

Very few films can match up to the original first movies. 'Before Sunset' is one such. This time Linklater has co-written the screenplay with Hawke and Delpy. Jesse and Celine reunite after nine years. Things haven't turned out the way they had expected but here's a chance. 'Before Sunset' follows pretty much the same style as 'Before Sunrise'. This one too is very much a conversational piece. Here the score is used to a minimal. During the end we hear some songs including Julie Delpy's beautiful 'My Waltz'. The cinematography consists of more long shots than in the first movie. The film has a very mature feel to it. Of course Jesse and Celine are a lot more mature today and less idealistic than they were nine years ago. Linklater beautifully captures the love between these two characters as he walks us through the streets of Paris. Here too the dialogues are just as magical as in the first movie except that this time there's a melancholy about the things that could have been, the years that they could have been together. Both Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are terrific as ever and they deserve additional praise for the writing and Ms. Delpy for her singing. Overall, 'Before Sunset' has everything that made 'Before Sunrise' a phenomenal movie experience.

Before Sunset is one of those movies, you either love, or you hate.

Personally, I loved it.

Now, I recommend watching "Before Sunrise" first, however it isn't necessary. Before Sunset does a good job of reviewing what had happened, therefore if you decide to watch it Before watching "Sunrise" you have nothing to worry about.

Some scenes are extremely well done. The characters are picture perfect, and the movie itself, is breathtaking. The aura of the movie is so spectacular, that it will inspire young directors out there, to pick up their video cameras are start filming.

An 80 minute movie, about two lovable characters and what they have to say, may sound boring. But the way it's done in Before Sunset, will sweep this impression right off your feet.

Julie and Ethan play two of the most honest and true characters I have ever seen, they are known as Jesse and Celine. And while much of the credit must go to the characters themselves, you musn't forget the actor and actress who played them.

Julie is perfect as Celine. The young french actress is so natural in front of the camera. Definitely, has potential.

Ethan is also very very honest, he seems so comfortable character that that you forget your watching a movie, and not a home-made video.

Both play with such honest expression, and such trueness, that they are so natural, Before Sunset becomes no longer a movie. It feels as if you are eavesdropping on two extremely developed people. It's such an intimate environment, that you never want to leave.

Before Sunset... 9.901/10*****

...is that it ends. This is a fantastic film. It joins the handful of movies where I think I liked the sequel even more than the original, although I liked 'Before Sunrise' as well. Where Sunrise captured the immediacy and urgency of perfect youthful love, Sunset reflects beautifully on the aftermath of that perfection. I remember a line that says "nothing that is complete breathes", and I think that is what we see in this film. A perfect connection with another human is a blessing and a curse; having experienced perfection a part of us stops breathing, unable or unwilling to mar the perfection of that memory.

The dialogue is amazing, the acting is spot-on; this is a great film. In some ways it felt more like reading a great novel than watching a movie, in that I really felt like I knew the characters and was sad the movie had to end. Kind of like saying goodbye to an old friend. If you are an action movie kind of person, skip this flick because it will bore you to tears. If, on the other hand, you like good dialogue, well formed characters, and aren't quite jaded enough to have given up completely on the idea of true love, don't miss this film.

This is simply one of the best movies I've seen, with very few qualifications. Maybe I should say that this is one of the best "simple" movies I've seen. Perhaps it is a bit like cooking, use fresh and quality ingredients and you can make something great without a lot of unnecessary stuff. Unfortunately, Hollywood just doesn't seem to have the ambition to make these type of movies anymore.

In any event, this is one of the few sequels that matches the intensity and integrity of the original. First, it has many simple, yet stylish and honest shots. Perhaps the Scorcese shot is used too much (i.e. following the actors on a long walk without cutting a la Goodfellas kitchen scene), but I don't think so because it makes sense in the context of the movie. Second, many of the shots have interesting emotive effect. For instance, towards the end of the movie, after these "lovers" are fighting the clock (because Ethan Hawke's character needs to catch a flight) and are cruising down the river, they are so engrossed in their conversation and the fact that they are trying to get so much out of the last few minutes they don't notice their ride is coming to an end. However, we the viewer can see what the characters either don't see or don't want to see, that the boat is crossing over the river to its destination and the departure no one wants to deal with. The viewer is given a wonderful sense of dread as the bank approaches in the background, because we know what is going to happen when the ride ends, and like the characters, we don't want it to end either. Even if the film borrows heavily from other great movies (e.g. My Dinner with Andre) it is independent of those influences.

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke were great per usual. Making the dialogue ring true is difficult, but they pull it off. As before, they completely capture the nature of the intimate and friendly conversational style of friends or lovers that is normally edited out of most movies. When people talk, things are not always sequential or rationale, and unlike most movies this movie doesn't try and correct that. Not for a moment does the audience find themselves thinking that this is some sort of charade and no one would ever talk like that. The dialogue is intelligent and insightful, but that is because the characters are intelligent and have a knack for being brutally honest with their thoughts and feelings.

This is movie excellence, and I'm glad some film makers are still trying to make art. Despite the romantic themes this isn't a date flick, so be prepare to deal with the difficult and often unresolved issues of love and relationships that arise.

I'm a movie lover. That first thing said, i have to recognize that i'm really hard on movies, and i usually discard many of them for being under-prepared, for so many errors and things like that. But with "Before Sunset" i felt different. We all know movies are just fakes: what happens, what we see is not the real life. It's just a construction. It's just somebody imagination becoming a visual media. But when i was watching this movie, i didn't felt that. I was seeing real people, with real problems and having thoughts, and fears and hopes. It's the most real acting i ever saw. All about it is just perfect: the ambiance, the set, the city, even the apartment we can see at the near end. Every piece of the movie was connected, and you can tell a whole story about the characters just for hear them, or seeing the way they talk, the things they said, the music they chooses or the things they have. In that way of thinking, i found this movie inspirational, a well-made piece of life, and incredibly deep and wide film. I think this is a portrait of life as only a few can know, of all the shadows and lights we all share.

So, i really recommend it, even if you didn't saw the first one.