A short poetic love story of strangers

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2000)

Two wonderful actors - Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy - play young students who meet on a train in Europe and decide to get off at Vienna to spend the next 24 hours together. This is basically a road film but it develops like a one of those garden variety 24-hour real-life documentary. It could have been a cliche love story. Instead it brings out the culmination of subtlety and inspirational love story largely thanks to great plot and outstanding selection of actors. The film is depicting a process of two young people with different backgrounds gradually understanding and falling for each other: Ethan Hawke as a bit self-absorbed American student visiting a possible girlfriend in Spain only to leave broken-hearted and Julie Delpy as a French student with rather political point of view on world affair - she resents the situation in former Yugo-slavia in the early scene. The two get closer as they walk through streets of Vienna encountering kind strangers in the city.
Not distracted by strong supporting actings is what makes this love story engrossing and very focused and an ultimate flirting, you'd call it if you are a cynic, becomes a poetic love story by sometimes serious discussions on life and love and the beautiful city of Vienna.
I'd say this film is the best romantic road film of the 90s. If you liked this one, you'd probably love 'The Surething' which in my opinion is the best romance film of the 80s. I strongly recommend both films if you are a romantic.