Praise of the film and discussion of some reasons why it works so well

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2004)

"Before Sunset" is one of the most exquisite romantic modern films I have ever seen. It is reminiscent of the following two movies: Claude Lelouch's "Un homme et une femme" ("A Man and a Woman" 1966) and Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois couleurs: Rouge" ("Red") in that it is a magnificent study of the inner workings of a relationship between two people who meet accidentally: a man and a woman. But their ages, nationalities, and successes (things often used to classify people) are not why the characters in these movies connect. These films are brief glimpses of details that make relationships so intense and so special. The backdrop of Paris adds a lushness to the film's beauty, and it is a comment on the themes of movement, transience, and touring or visiting a place as opposed to living there and it becoming fabric in one's day-to-day "real life." At first viewing, the conversation between the two characters feels so natural, making it surprising to learn that there is no adlib in this film. However, at second viewing, (We stayed for the very next showing of the film!) the brilliance of the construction of the conversation became obvious. Every word is fraught with risk and meaning, even in the beginning of the movie, as the characters talk around the subject of their relationship so masterfully, while using it as every referential point in their dialogue.
The themes in their conversation have a universality to them, and the connection between the characters makes the viewer forget that there is a clash of cultures, for she is French while he is American. The film manages to isolate bits and pieces of what it is that truly connects two strangers - soul mates in a once or twice opportunity in a lifetime.
The ending of this film is nothing short of breathtaking. It makes me think of the Woody Allen film "The Purple Rose of Cairo" in that the viewer is tempted to leave his/her seat and walk into the movie itself. For, this movie portrays a world where the possibility of returning to pivotal people in our pasts and revisiting the most important moments in time, where our lives irrevocably change is possible.
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Linklater are brilliant.