What if?

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2008)

Unfolding almost in real-time, this is a story about another chance for love that was once lost. Set nine years after they first met, Jesse and Celine find themselves older and wiser and still crazy about each other. They meet in a bookstore where Jesse is on tour for his best-selling novel which, incidentally, is a transcript of their magical night in Vienna long ago. He needs to leave for the airport soon and they have just about an hour to spend with each other in Paris. This film is going down in movie history for me as one in my all-time top ten favorite romantic films. It is even better than its 1995 prequel, which was already magnificent in itself. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have unbelievable chemistry. Their two characters are even more real than when they were first introduced all those years ago. Their love for each other just bounces off the screen. This is terribly remarkable film-making. The immediate sequences are a direct metaphor to the urgency of their situation, how little time they have. It is beautiful. I can't even spot the longest shot. It must have taken a real effort for those two actors to pull off these great performances, long dialogues and all. The best part about this film is that it can be seen as a stand-alone. You don't have to have already seen Before Sunrise. Watch it and I swear you won't regret it.
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