Realistic, Infectious and Delightful

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2013)

Jesse (Ethan Hawke), an American, has been traveling around Europe on his own aimlessly for the past few weeks on his Eurail pass. His last stop, where he is currently heading, is Vienna, from where he will catch a flight home tomorrow morning. Celine (Julie Delphy), a Parisienne, had been in Budapest visiting her grandmother. She is currently heading back to Paris to resume her studies at the Sorbonne. Jesse and Celine meet by chance on the same westbound train out of Budapest. The connection they feel from their short conversation on the train is enough for Jesse to suggest at the last minute that she get off the train with him in Vienna and that they spend time together in Vienna - just wandering around the city as was his original plan as he doesn't have the money for a hotel - before he needs to go to the airport, and at which time she will board the next train to Paris. If it ends up she feels uncomfortable with him as time progresses, she could ditch him at any point. Celine agrees. As they wander from place to place in Vienna, they talk about their philosophies of life and love. They also talk about logistical issues regarding their time, such as why Jesse was in Europe to begin with, what they are feeling for each other, if there is a future for them together and if so what that future may look like taking into consideration both their current lots in life.
Who wouldn't want something like this to happen to them? Its a dream come true to realize that you found the love of your life so unexpectedly in the most unexpected of places and clicked instantly. Of course, its near impossible not to stay in connection with each other nowadays, but the setting in the nineties and the characteristics of these people and their beliefs works wonders here. This is a simple story of love set in the beautiful city of Vienna over the course of a night between an American guy and a French girl, that's told in the most realistic, infectious and delightful way possible. The chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy is amazing. You might or might not warm up to Jesse who craves attention and generally has this snobbish attitude but is a romantic inside his heart, but no one, absolutely no one, will not love the free-spirited Celine who may come off as naive, but is so very hopeful and endearing. The sexual tension runs rampant beneath the surface. There are these most inane of conversations about their lives and how they feel about stuff, yet it is scintillating in the hands of these very capable actors who bring such joy, uncertainty, hope and fear to the table. There's no villain, action, slapstick comedy or any of the regular stuff that you expect from movies. The almost loving emphasis on breezy character interaction is quite remarkable. The dialogues flow naturally and is so good that I didn't want it to end. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the movies in the Before trilogy.
8/10