Before Sunset (2004)
Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy is an important cinematic work. Beginning in 1995 with Sunrise, we saw Jesse (Ethan Hawke) persuade Celine (Julie Delpy) to alight a long-distance train with him, and spend a night walking around Vienna, talking. While doing so, they fall in love, but are forced to part – making a plan to meet in 6 months. Sunset sees them bump into each other 9 years later. Jesse has written a book about that night and Celine sees him at a signing. They have just over an hour to catch up in Paris before he has to leave. Midnight sees them 9 years after that – parents of twins and on vacation in Greece while their relationship slowly disintegrates. It is the most beautiful rendering of the passage of time, and the evolution of love, on film.
How do you identify the superior sequel in a series of 3 five-star movies? Easy – it’s Sunset. First of all, it’s the movie nobody thought they could ever make, since Sunrise was not a big commercial success. Within the film, the characters are existing on stolen time – between his book signing and his flight home – just like the film itself does. Secondly, unlike the first film, Hawke and Delpy are co-writers. In Sunset, Jesse and Celine are literally the embodiment of the passion these filmmakers have for this project, along with Linklater. They have poured themselves into these characters to the extent that onscreen, they inhabit them completely. The whole thing feels improvised – without any improvisation being used.
Thirdly, the 80 minute running time gives us the perfect depiction of two incredibly detailed characters slowly trying to re-connect. At the beginning, when they meet, they are pleasant, polite and courteous – chatting like old friends, skimming the highlights of each other’s resumes and wondering where the years have gone. Then they discuss why their plan to meet up never worked, and we are suddenly aware that these two people are resolutely hiding behind sizeable emotional walls. The rest of the film shows Jesse and Celine trying to figure out how to scale those walls and get back to that glorious closeness they once had – while working against the clock.
Lastly, when we arrive – breathless – at the cliffhanger ending, we realize we have watched something so intimate, that it shocks us to remember that we are deeply invested in the survival of this relationship – despite the fact that these characters have technically spent less than 24 hours together in total. As good as the follow-up film is, Sunset is by far the best sequel in this trio of masterpieces.
