A sequel that satisfies

Rating: Null/10 (20 February 2011)

You should really see "Before Sunrise" (1995) first. If you don't enjoy that - and many will find it too slow and wordy - then don't bother with the follow-up. If you liked the original - and I certainly did - then you have to see this sequel (2004).
It's the same director and co-writer (Richard Linklater); it's the same actors playing the same characters (Ethan Hawke as the American Jesse and Julie Delpy as the French Celine); and it's the same structure (essentially one long conversation as the duo walk around a European city over the space of a few hours). Again the dialogue and acting are so naturalistic that one feels that one is listening in on a real exchange.
What's different? It's day not night. The city is Paris not Vienna. Most importantly, it's nine years later and Jesse and Celine have lived and loved in their own fashion and had time to think about what might have been. But can it still be? Most sequels fall short of the original; this one complements it beautifully.