Nine Years Later... It's Still As Good or Even Better This Time

Rating: Null/10 (8 January 2014)

Before Sunset is a sequel to Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise & is set 9 years after the events of the first film. Jesse has published an autobiographical book about the events we witnessed in the previous chapter and is out on a promotion tour to help its sale in Europe. While promoting the book in Paris, the last destination after which he should head back to New York, he happens to meet Céline again and thus, we embark on another single day adventure with these two people which is once again constrained by time and just like the original, it is all about conversations shaping up the film's story, plot & presents an all new dimensions of the now older characters.
The direction by Linklater is as good as the previous film, the screenplay may not have the freshness of Before Sunrise but it sure is more mature & wiser and also incorporates writing credits from its lead actors. The cinematography nicely captures few beautiful locations of Paris but the most impressive thing about the camera this time is that the entire story from start to finish gives an appearance of being shot in real time and is expertly edited. The performances from Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy as Jesse & Celine, respectively, is fantastic once again and their chitchat about the past 9 years, jobs & relationships feels absolutely natural while also bringing on surface their maturity & still existing feelings for one another.
On an overall scale, Before Sunset turns out to be a sequel that in the end was very much worth its nine years wait and just like its predecessor is one of the finest films of the its genre. Plus the script, which references the previous film to some extent, still has enough strength to succeed as a standalone product and even if you see it without seeing Before Sunrise, you will most probably still end up loving it. But it's better to follow the pattern, in my opinion, as that gives Before Sunset a broader, much evolved look, thus making it an ingenious successor. Before Sunrise is one of the best films there is in the romance genre. And Before Sunset joins it as another equally heartwarming chapter covering another day in the lives of Jesse & Celine. Don't miss it.