Before Sunset (10/10)

Before Sunset is one of those movies that just does everything right. I can't see a single flaw or anything close to thhat through out the mesmerizing 80 minute film. "Before Sunset" is the sequel to the fantastic "Before Sunrise". The first film follows an american boy and a french girl who meet and spend the day and night together in Vienna before they go their separate ways. They discuss love, life, philosophy, annoyances, memorable experiences etc.

Without trying to give too much away the two depart in the morning, promising to meet back there six months later. We never know if they do as that film ends. Now nine years later we have a sequel that falls in line with the time the movie takes place in. Jesse, the american (Ethan Hawke) wrote a novel about the experience and on the last leg of his european tour meets the french girl Celine (Julie Delpy) again. He has just over an hour before he needs to leave for the airport and possibly from her life once and for all. The entire film takes place in real time, the 80 minutes film is just 80 minutes of their lives. This sounds dangerous even boring. However you get lost in the spellbinding dialogue and the film flies by. Their conversation this time around is similar to their first where they discuss what they believe. Yet this now they can talk about that day they spent together and what it meant to them. I will spoil it somewhat and say that they did not meet again six months later as they planned. However the film deals with the situation in the best way possible. If you thought they would meet, you won't be hurt by this fact. The two walk through Paris and exchange stories, but the attraction they feel can no longer be there. They know it's there and it pains them, the life the could have had is gone. In the most subtle ways they show how much they still care for the other. They also hate each other. They idolized that night and nothing again felt as good as what they made that night out to be. Celine feels that she needs to be loved but can't stand being around anyone romantically. Jesse felt that his life would be fuller if Celine had met him again in Vienna, he is now in a failing marriage but has a wonderful son. How the two interact feels so real that I can find myself idolizing these two film as much as the characters did their one night.

Without trying to give away to much after a enchanting moment, Jesse should be leaving, but he doesn't. He sits there and Celine does nothing to stop or send him off. "Your going to miss you plane," she says as she dances to some music. "I know" Jesse replies and the film ends with showing Celine dancing once more. We don't know what happens, and that's the beauty of it. How awful would it have been to see the two become intimate or Jesse leaving and never coming back. The ending like the first one lets you decide if your a cynic or a romantic based on what you guess happens. I don't want to guess, I just like knowing Jesse needs to leave but he doesn't quite get there yet. Richard Linklater has made a movie with soul. Some people just go through life, looking at the future, believing that some things never work out in the end. The rest of us believe that around every corner, there's a possibility for magic to happen. "Before Sunset" helps keep those feelings alive.

10/10
Recommendation: Watch the first movie before this (Before Sunrise). the 80 minutes of real time won't be everyone's thing. This is a fantastic movie that should be watched still. I suggest watching this and the first with your significant other.