A Beautiful Cinematic Sunset View!

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2005)

It dawned at me many years ago that the 1995 Richard Linklater film "Before Sunrise" was one of the supreme bang-up romantic narratives in cinematic history; even though the main characters are not showed banging. "Before Sunrise" tells the story of Jessie & Celine's one-day romance in Vienna. Jessie is the American and Celine is the Frenchie. They were young, vulnerable, and adventurous. The film's open-ended finale left us pondering if they would reunite in 6 months. Before you know it, 9 years have passed. So you know what that means, Sequel Heaven! Jessie & Celine are now Sunset People! Doing it right! Night after night! OK, Summer's over! Donna Summer, that is. "Before Sunset" is one of the best sequels ever! I know some of you think that my brain is fried by getting too much sun with this overstatement. However, you have to experience this breathtaking sunset to believe it. In "Sunset", Jessie & Celine unexpectedly reunite in Paris nine years later. They're older, wiser, and more experienced in the game of love. Will they recapture the magic in this "Sunset Place"? If you are an avid fan of "Sunrise", then you will adore the "Sunset" even more. The film's poetic masterful screenplay is quite deserving of its Academy Award nomination; which by the way was scribed by Linklater, Jessie, and Celine. Yes! Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Their acting was also not too shabby. Ethan Hawke as Jessie and Julie Delpy as Celine were commanding thespian performances that were definitely on the sunny-side up category. Without a doubt, the best acting duet of the year! Reunited and it felt so good to see Hawke and Delpy on screen together again. I announce in my delpysition that Delpy's work might very well be the best female acting of 2004. So much so, that I desperately wish I had "Jessie's Girl". Writer-Director Linklater's work never ceases to surprise me. He is one of the genius directors of our generation. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on You", go see this beautiful sunset today! ***** Excellent