Quite lovely

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2008)

Taking a simple premise (two twenty-something travelers, a French woman and an American man), director Linklater creates something lovely and magical in giving us "Before Sunrise". Floppy-haired Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and charming Celine meet on a train, and spontaneously decide to spend the night together exploring Vienna. They talk, fall in love, and talk some more. They then go their separate ways in the morning, but the joy is in the amazing experience they have just shared.
Ever had a special moment with a person where you completely lose track of time and just spend hours in conversation, discovering someone and yet feeling you have known them all their lives? I have. While my experience was on a platonic level, and didn't involve wine, Vienna or Ethan Hawke, the moment is something you treasure and that's why "Before Sunrise" struck a real chord with me. Believe me, there is plenty to talk about when you're with the right person.
Hawke is certainly not a great actor, but he is perfect for the role of Jesse. Delpy is charming and unaffected as Celine. While she is the more socially-conscious of the two, I was glad the film didn't deviate into some of the socio-political claptrap that really dogs some of the newer films. By the film's end, Celine goes off on her train and Jesse on the bus, and Linklater takes us back to all the places they have visited in a series of shots. His point? Vienna is lovely, but it's the people that inhabit the places that give it colour. And it's even better when shared with someone special.