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12/25/2003 Archived Entry: "Before Sunrise"

MOVIE NIGHT AT FORT SINATRA: There is a short little scene in Richard Linklater's 2001 movie Waking Life (which if you remember I wrote about last month) which sees characters named Jesse and Celine in bed talking about love and life. After I listened to the director's commentary I learned that they were picking up on conversations from an earlier movie they appeared in called Before Sunrise (1995), Linklater's third movie (after Slacker and Dazed & Confused). Based on that I decided to buy Before Sunrise unseen. Yeah, I liked Waking Life that much.

I wasn't disappointed. The movie takes place over only a few hours after Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train in Europe. Jesse is getting off in Vienna to catch a flight home to America while Celine is traveling on home to Paris. After a short conversation in the train's buffet car -- one that shows there is a clear attraction between the two -- he convinces her to get off with him and catch a later train. He has about 18 hours to kill before his plane leaves and he wants to spend it with her.

Linklater is known for movies filled with dialogue and Before Sunrise is no different. As the two walk the streets of Vienna they talk about everything from their childhoods, the nature of love, sex, fate and everything else that a pair of 20 year olds would discuss. Hanging over all their conversations is the stark fact that the next morning will see them split, probably never to see each other again.

I have to admit it was one of the more tender films I've seen. There is no pretence or artifice, Linklater just wants to tell the story of two people who've fallen in love. Whether it's the shy looks they give each other in the record listening booth or the "phone" conversations they share in a restaurant, the movie rings true. These are two real people and Linklater lets them stay that way. When their story ends it's impossible to know that they will met again even after making the promise.

Celine: I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away.

Before Sunrise is a bit of a cult film so it's surprising to learn that Linklater is making a sequel, reportedly set nine years after they first meet and entitled If Not Now. I can only hope that it captures the magic of the original.

Oh yes, and my love for Julie Delpy continues unabated. I'll even watch the dreadful An American Werewolf in Paris for her.