A different tune of celebration.

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2013)

While the hypnotic mist that engulfed me after watching the first movie 'Before Sunrise', of the trilogy by Richard Linklater, was yet to settle down, I had a chance to watch its sequel, 'Before Sunset', soon after. Two strangers, Jesse and Celine, who had spent a loquacious and romantic day together, exploring the streets of Vienna, were supposed to meet after 9 long years and I was very pretty curious and anxious to know what had happened before and what would happen now that they would be meeting again. Eventually, the movie turned out to be an awesome manifestation of strong emotions trapped within for years - as if a kind of low intensity volcano that doesn't erupt catastrophically but, never-the- less, changes the landscape of the minds of the protagonists and how they react to it. The movie, for most part, rests heavily on its strong script and powerful acting of the two lead characters (it's hard to believe that the protagonists themselves – Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy –had co-authored the script). So one needs to be all ears to fully immerse and enjoy their coming face to face with the reality and tackling it. This demanded a very judicious and effortless acting on the part of the lead pair and Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy had done an excellent job of it. Their acting is so natural that most times they seem to be playing for themselves rather than performing their roles. Also their body chemistry is extremely enjoyable. It seems the body chemistry they developed before, while playing their roles in the first movie of the trilogy, had come handy and they have improved upon it further in this movie. The director, Richard Linklater, and his cinematographer, had a formidable task at their hands of holding the audiences together till the very end since the movie solely depended upon the script & acting with not much of the scenic locations, visuals or twists & turns in the plot. But in the end, they had done a brilliant job of it. Intensely dramatic scenes are handled delicately without glycerin filled tears or nerve breaking sobs. Then they made judicious use of light highlighting happy, sad or tense situations, For instance, the lead pair glows in the sunlight when they ferry across the river Seine in Paris in a joyous mood while darker shades of light are used to depict tense situations. This thoughtful use of light elevates the given situation beyond measure and, at times, even communicates in absence of any dialogue from the actors. This variable display of light seems not merely coincidental but a meticulously planned creation of the director and so are the unusually long takes between the shots. Maybe not realized by less discerning viewer, many small but deft & creative directorial touches go on throughout the movie that keep the audience glued to their seats till it reaches its pinnacle - the concluding song- 'A waltz for the night'. The song (also written & performed on screen by Julie Delpy) is the real gem – a cherry on the top! Its sweet rendition echoes in your ears as you leave the auditorium and its sure to remain further with you for a very long time. So go watch it! The movie is a juxtaposition of art, music and crafty film-making which eventually sings a different tune of a celebration that an elite film-lover can't afford to miss.