Beautifully done, Must watch.

Rating: 10/10 (30 July 2014)

My wife and I (tragically) had never heard about the "before" trilogy up until this week, so we watched "Before Sunrise" yesterday. Clearly, then, this review is within the spectrum of the first movie alone, free of paradigms encompassing the scope of the entire trilogy. Truly romantic, though not filled with Hollywoodian cliché. Very Engaging, despite absence of plot twist intricacies, no external characters and the focus on casual dialogues. Tragic, but far from being over-dramatic
This film does not follow a well-labeled confrontation-climax-resolution narrative arc usually present in most romantic movies in the form of falling-fighting-reconciling. The story line is very simple. Even though Vienna sets an idyllic background to the plot, I'd argue that the magic rests on the incredible acting of both actors and the genuinity of their conversations and engagement. I felt the production made sure to make both leads look as ordinary as possible. The romance is never about feet-sweeping attraction or, as mentioned in the movie, "romantic projections" that tend to be platonic and unrealistic. It is a simple getting-to-know-you that slowly and tastefully develops into romance, aided by circumstantial factors but never exaggerated, focusing more on their interactions than character development. The tragedy is deep and emotional in nature, perfectly set up, without any slow-motion-running-free-tears scenes with super dramatic soundtrack. It is just so simple and real that it immerses you in a surreal-dream-like night in Vienna that brings back the sweet thrill of meeting your loved one in slightly awkward fashion. No white-horse prince or dashing cheerleader, just that weird person you happened to fall in love with.
I believe this is a movie for various tastes. I balk to say, and dread the though of labeling it as such, but this film could easily make it into a chick-flick night. The cult public would highly appreciate the alternative techniques used in the film-making. And even those who don't really dig romantic movies could find themselves lost in a reverie about meeting a special one in a train to Vienna (or taking a trip to Europe with their companion, for that matter).
Thumbs up to its cleanliness. The only thing that could worry a parent is the language (that I classify as mild, not strong). Most traditional families could play this on a family night no problem.