Not completely satisfied I'm afraid

Rating: 6/10 (20 January 2005)

Alright, shocking confess: I only heard of 'Before Sunrise' when this one came out. So I went out to see that a couple of weeks ago, so I could start with 'Sunset', as I believe it's pretty obligate to watch both movies to really know what's going on.
So, it's nine years later. Celine (Delpy) and Jesse (Hawke, who, even more than Delpy, looks like he hasn't changed at all) have grown up without ever seeing each other again after that 16th June they promised to see each other 6 months later. As it turns out, Jesse was there in Vienna, but Celine had to attend the funeral of her grandmother.
But fate, in a way, served them well. Jesse now is a somewhat famous writer (he wrote the story of 'Sunrise' down), and is on tour through Europe, signing books and answering questions. When he's about done in Paris, his last stop, Delpy walks in. That scene, by the way, is worth watching a second time.
So the two start talking while wandering through France, not unlike they did in Vienna in Sunrise, but you would expect the talks to be different, more adult. And they are. After some babbling about reincarnation, playing the guitar and anything else there might come up, the two get down to the core: what's your current relationship like? Up until then, the movie is pretty jolly. When Jesse confesses he was in Vienna on December 16th, all Celine can do is laugh out loud. There's a feeling there on both of: well, okay, too bad about that, but life goes on. When later, while driving in the back of the car that should take Jesse to the airport, both confess they just can't forget that night 9 years ago, the movie starts getting more serious.
You can't help comparing sequels to each other, and if I had to do that here, I'm afraid 'Sunrise' did more to me than this movie. The conversations seem more fabricated this time (I know a lot of people don't agree with me on that), the characters a bit less likable (maybe because in Sunrise they resembled my age more), and the ending far less satisfying than that of Sunrise.
Not in any way that Before Sunset is a bad movie, and anyone who saw Before Sunrise should really go see it, but I just felt more connected with the first movie.
6/10.