Before Sunrise

Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused) directs Before Sunrise, the 1995 romantic drama driven heavily by strong dialogue and compelling characters. Linklater wrote the film after having a similar experience to the characters in the film, as he met a woman named Amy and spent the night talking as they walked through the streets of Philadelphia. Before Sunrise is not an average, predictable noisy romantic comedy. It is a patient and compelling film that resonates long after the viewing and carries continuous weight because of the philosophical repercussions of the actions of the characters and because of the tender resolve of the two protagonists.

The plot is simple enough. The film follows a young man named Jesse, played here by Ethan Hawke, as he is on his way to Vienna to catch a flight home after a break-up that has taken a significant emotional toll on him. He is on a train when he meets a young French woman named Celine, played here by Julie Delpy. She is on her way back to Paris to attend school after having spent time with her grandmother in Budapest. The pair meet and have a conversation for some time on the train, after which Jesse convinces Celine to spend an evening with him as he wanders around Vienna before his flight in the morning. Celine agrees to spend more time with Jesse, so the pair spend the evening walking through the streets of Vienna.

Before Sunrise is comprised of a great deal of discussion. Jesse and Celine discuss philosophy, love, religion, and general life beliefs and ideas throughout their evening together. Celine and Jesse are very different characters in some ways, but in many foundational ways they want the same things out of life. The differences are exposed with Linklater’s beautiful script, as the two characters start to slowly abandon previously held truths in order to be together and in order to abandon themselves to love and the hope of a new relationship with one another. They spend early portions of the film decrying modern notions of relationships and standard elements of romance, but by the time the film draws to a close they agree to meet again and fall victim to the trappings of romantic love.

The film is beautifully shot and Linklater doesn’t invade the screen or crowd his characters. There are no real “supporting” characters within the film, rather Vienna serves as a suitable backdrop for the situations within Before Sunrise. Linklater shoots widely, giving us a broad sense of texture from the scenes. He demonstrates how the characters and the people add life to certain backdrops and then, in the closing shots of the film, shows the same locations where Celine and Jesse interacted without the same life of love from the characters. Linklater uses music beautifully as well, allowing the sounds and songs of the streets of Vienna to serve as a soundtrack and letting his two characters interact with the music of the streets in unique and very human ways. Each time we hear music in the film, save for a few examples, it derives from somewhere potent instead of from some esoteric voice in the director’s head.

The characters drive the film forward with their words, not with their actions, and the visual palette that naturally progresses from such earnest discussion is more illuminating than any backstory, flashback or loud segment would have ever been. Instead, Linklater and his actors give us solid tenderness and real tangible power with their words. They talk like real people and the words flow from one scene into the next like a work of fine art, allowing the various hidden elements of the characters to unfold naturally and organically. The truth to the narrative is in the truth to the characters, not in this gaudy hidden guiding light of where a scene should go and how a scene should be constructed. Linklater’s direction is so natural and so nearly absent that Hawke and Delpy feel like normative people simply strolling through Vienna at night. Because of this, we get to know the characters out of pure strength of will and not out of powerful force of film. It is a beautiful experience of a film that allows us to watch growth, love and passion without feeling like a voyeur.

Before Sunrise is a truly rare treat and a true marvel of a film. It feels almost improvisational in its grace and entirely natural in its dialogue, bringing the audience along for the ride of a lifetime without an ounce of CGI or screwball attempts at comedy. Instead, everything about Before Sunrise is a natural flow of energy from the terrific actors and from one of the finest scripts in film history. This film is a true gem, a classic and a film more than worthy of its incredible 100% rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. In an age of such divisiveness and despair, it’s nice to see true human drama unfold and characters that aren’t afraid of the natural human contradiction within.

Trailer: