As with the characters there is profoundness, as well as simplicity.

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2004)

You really can't rate Before Sunset properly without including Before Sunrise.
Before Sunrise is actually the first part of a two part set, the second part being Before Sunset. I thought that movie might be a sequel, as sequels go. It is not. It is the other essential part of the whole. I will critique them as an essential pair.
The movies are difficult to rate. This is because if they mean something to you they should mean a lot. If they do not mean anything in particular, then you probably didn't like them at all - and probably didn't bother with the sequel. Without going into any details (I don't need to - you can get the official storyline from the general critic's reviews), here is how I rate them.
Before seeing Before Sunset, I gave Before Sunrise a 3 out of 4. But the two together rate a 4, or more precisely an 8.5 out of 10. I have to leave room for such masterpieces as Hotel Rwanda and films in that class - totally different. It is also interesting that these movies are played out in real time. But I won't elaborate in order not to spoil the plot of the movies as a pair. We are lucky that as of now, we can see them together, or even better, one night apart, as I did.
As with the characters there is profoundness, as well as simplicity to these movies and a nagging question which is resolved at the end (of Sunset).
What do you think? Concord, California 12/25/04