Not quite as good as I hoped for

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2005)

I think it was three or four years ago I accidentally came across "Before sunrise" while zapping through the channels on a slow TV-night. This was one of those rare movie experiences, where you are totally absorbed, almost drawn in to the movie, not for a single moment losing focus on whats happening on the screen. Being an 18 y-old guy, romantic movies weren't usually what I was looking for, but this one was different. It felt so real, but in the same time so magic. At the end of the day, I think the reason why I, and so many others, love this film, is that you think and hope that you someday will have a similar experience. It somewhat feels like the ultimate romantic situation, the two of them walking around in the beautiful city of Wienna, discussing everything between heaven on earth while the night slowly turns to morning.
Well, enough about "Before sunrise". The sequel, "Before sunrise" takes place in Paris when the two main characters meet again after 9 years of no contact. I guess you either have seen the movie, or somewhat knows the plot, so I'm gonna go straight to my thoughts on the film.
What first strikes me is the different tones of the two movies. Where the first one is impulsive, romantic and youthful, the second one is reflective, humorous and mature. Not until the last 30 minutes do the two films really meet. Maybe its a matter of age and life situation which one you like more, but for me "sunset" just don't really make it. This especially goes for the first half of the movie, which really disappointed me. I don't know what I expected really, but this wasn't it. Its just too much brain and not enough heart. Hearing them talk about the global situation really doesn't make it for me, and every time they get close to personal things, it ends up with some stupid sex joke. All the chemistry between them seemed gone, leaving only a boring charade to be seen. After the first half hour it just felt like they would drink their coffee, and then be like "ok, nice to see you, have a nice life", as it didn't seem they had any connection at all. The last half though, really improves, with the scene in the car as the highlight. This is what I wanna see, them talking about their life situations and how they feel about each other. The ending is also great, and really leaves a bit to the imagination. I just think the good parts are a little too few and the magic moments are too easily counted. Maybe thats the point, maybe the sequel is supposed to be more realistic and cynical, and some people probably love it for it. But for me, "Before sunrise" will still be the far better of the two movies.