The most realistic romantic film I've watched

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2008)

"Before Sunrise" is the most realistic romantic film I've watched, and it's thought-provoking beyond the pseudo-intellectual dialog. This is not a typical Hollywood romance. The characters do not live happily ever-after and they are surprisingly mature for their age (early 20s) about the nature of couple relationships and love.
Have you ever wondered why at the end of most romantic comedies the screen fades to black? Because after that, there story ceases to be interesting. And the life of the couple starts on the slow path toward routine and comfort and apathy. One notable exception from that pattern is The Graduate: after the protagonists are reunited and elope on a bus, before the fade to black, the expression on their faces reads "Now what?"
Indeed, "Before Sunrise" is one of the very few films who looks at long-term relationships though a realistic, even if cold, lens. "I kind of see this all love as this, escape for two people who don't know how to be alone." You might not like this if you're still in the infancy of your emotional development. "Jesse: Why do you think everybody thinks relationships are supposed to last forever anyway? Celine: Yeah, why. It's stupid." You'll like it and identify with it if you've been through things (or if you've read about them - see Laura Kipnis' book Against Love).
Yet the characters are not jaded, so the romantic in your will rejoice as much as the cynic: "Listen, if somebody gave me the choice right now, of to never see you again or to marry you, I would marry you."