Probably the most honest representation of the joys and pains of young love

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2017)

Richard Linklater loves the little things, the smile of a passerby, the glint of sunset on a window, a half-heard deep conversation, a free bottle of wine. He avoids 'movie magic' - things that make us swoon and weep in the cinema but don't really appear in real life. His movies are grounded in reality, the here and now, and he shows us that there is magic here, too, not just on the big screen.
'Before Sunrise' has no special effects, no action, no comic relief characters, no astonishing coincidences. What it does have is two people and their engaging conversation and the bond that develops between them. We get to witness love springing forth.
There are skeptics who say that the movie is unrealistic, that there is no love at first sight. But then there are those who know that yes, there is love at first sight, that fact is stranger than fiction and more beautiful, and this movie is an accurate description of one such event, an event that seems so spontaneous and believable that it might as well be real.
The first part of an extremely ambitious trilogy, 'Before Sunrise' shows us the wonders of young love. Later installments add depth of emotion, but this one is perfect on its own as a representation of that joyful and painful feeling.