Walk, talk and romance in Europe

Rating: 5/10 (14 February 2014)

Before Sunrise is a minimalist film which features Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy as two young characters walking and talking.
The film starts off in a train as a German couple argue and the two couple tentatively talk, enjoy each other's company and make an emotional connection.
Both characters share their perspectives on life and love. The film takes place over the course of one day and night as they see shows, view buildings and gardens, drink in cafés and bars and become romantically entangled.
They reveal maybe a little too much about themselves as believe they will never see one another again. Hawke has a plane to catch before sunrise as he returns to the USA while Delpy is going to Paris.
The film has a charm with its Continental European setting but it's also easy to lose attention with all their talking.
It does not quite fly for me although its a brave attempt by director and co-writer Richard Linklater to make an innovative, independent romantic film.
However the film is intriguing because it has spawned two sequels so far. So we do meet the couple in the later stages of their lives.