What is love? Do we see it when it is right before our eyes? What is happiness? What about meaning and purpose for our lives? Can they be found? An assortment of these and other questions are what constitute the heart of Richard Linklater’s pair of films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. The pseudo-intellectual and philosophical ruminations of early adulthood are given a graceful screen treatment that manages to capture these innate longings and speculations with patience and affection. The principal characters are Jesse (Ethan Hawke), an American student on vacation, and Celine (Julie Delpy), a French student on her way back to La Sorbonne. Their chance encounter is introduced in Before Sunrise when they meet on a train and spend a day and night walking through Vienna. Before Sunset is another look at them ten years later in Paris. Each film is essentially an extended conversation conducted against an iconic European backdrop that revels not only in the uncanny connection forged by two lovers but also in the art of conversing itself. It is as if each film is an ode to thoughtful yet pedestrian dialogue.
An American film with European preoccupations is rare (perhaps now we may even say that a European film with European preoccupations is rare!) but the wonderfully meandering and open-ended nature of each of these films recalls the aesthetic of such classic art-house fare as L’Avventura or La Dolce Vita. As there is practically no plot to speak of it may be said that nothing happens, and this is true so far as it is extended towards the traditional plot that introduces conflict and ends in resolution. No one is murdered, or betrayed, there is no bank heist or courtroom soliloquy. The significant action is internal: the common ground staked out by two young people, in love with the world and each other, who are all too aware of the tenuous nature of their desire.
Each film’s visual beauty is enhanced not only by the sumptuous locales, but also by the careful framing of faces and the lengthy tracking shots that heighten the experience of shared time. Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan wrote the first screenplay: they were aided in their efforts for the sequel by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, making the story’s second half a decidedly collaborative affair. Particularly memorable are the contributions by Julie Delpy, whose beautiful performance of an original song is followed by an endearing impression of Nina Simone that helps bring Before Sunset to a graceful close.
An American film with European preoccupations is rare (perhaps now we may even say that a European film with European preoccupations is rare!) but the wonderfully meandering and open-ended nature of each of these films recalls the aesthetic of such classic art-house fare as L’Avventura or La Dolce Vita. As there is practically no plot to speak of it may be said that nothing happens, and this is true so far as it is extended towards the traditional plot that introduces conflict and ends in resolution. No one is murdered, or betrayed, there is no bank heist or courtroom soliloquy. The significant action is internal: the common ground staked out by two young people, in love with the world and each other, who are all too aware of the tenuous nature of their desire.
Each film’s visual beauty is enhanced not only by the sumptuous locales, but also by the careful framing of faces and the lengthy tracking shots that heighten the experience of shared time. Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan wrote the first screenplay: they were aided in their efforts for the sequel by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, making the story’s second half a decidedly collaborative affair. Particularly memorable are the contributions by Julie Delpy, whose beautiful performance of an original song is followed by an endearing impression of Nina Simone that helps bring Before Sunset to a graceful close.
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