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"I flew all the way over there, and you blew the thing off, and my life?s been a big nosedive since then," says Jesse (Ethan Hawke) to Céline (Julie Delpy) in the romantic drama "Before Sunset" (2004). He quickly tells her he?s kidding, which I believe is more or less true. But I think his edgy tone and demeanor indicate he's deliberately needling her. It seems to me he?s expressing an underlying anger and frustration, and he wants her to share his anguish.
I offer the above as just one small example of what I believe makes this film fascinating: while the main characters give forth a steady stream of verbiage, they use lots of indirection, and it's left up to the viewer to figure out what?s really going on inside their heads.
"Before Sunset" is one of the lowest keyed romantic movies I know. No one raises his or her voice, no one sheds a tear, and the physical intimacy between Jesse and Céline never even reaches the level of kissing on the lips. But they both sometimes speak with jarring frankness.
I would say that Jesse and Céline are probably the most loquacious and articulate romantic couple in movie history, and "Before Sunset" consists almost entirely of one long, rambling conversation between them. But director Richard Linklater ("School of Rock," "Waking Life," "Dazed and Confused") has added visual interest by setting their conversation in a series of charming locations as they meander about Paris.
Actually, Jesse and Céline were also the central characters in Linklater?s beloved "Before Sunrise" (1995), and they were played by Hawke and Delpy in that movie as well.
The earlier film was set in 1994 when the characters were 20-somethings who met on a train and spent several hours together in Vienna. "Before Sunset" takes place in 2003 and picks up the story nine years later.
I would describe "Before Sunset" as a delicate process where Jesse and Céline warily decide together whether or not they should become romantically involved. The stakes are high for both of them since Jesse has a wife and child and Céline has a boyfriend. And there's a ticking clock: a limo driver awaits to whisk Jesse to his 10 o?clock transatlantic flight.
I was impressed with the scene where Julie Delpy accompanies herself on guitar while she sings a song of her own composition titled "A Waltz for a Night." It's here that Céline fully reveals to Jesse her feelings about the hours they spent together in Vienna nine years earlier.
The movie is subtle, and some viewers seem puzzled by the ending. But if you think of the lyrics to the Nina Simone song that's playing on the soundtrack and you pay attention to the dialogue and behavior of the characters, I believe you'll know what Jesse and Céline are going to do.
I recognize that "Before Sunset" is not a movie everyone will like. The central characters don?t seem to me to be completely likable, and the film is extremely talky. Also, there are longueurs, and I think the movie's dialogue feels artificially constructed. But for me, the film's strength is that it shows the many different ways we use language.
There are almost no bonus materials on the "Before Sunset" DVD, but I did find the 10-minute making-of documentary worthwhile. In it director Richard Linklater, actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and producer Anne Walker-McBay describe how they went about making the film on a 15-day shooting schedule.
Below I've listed all the special features of the "Before Sunset" DVD.
DVD Details:
"I flew all the way over there, and you blew the thing off, and my life?s been a big nosedive since then," says Jesse (Ethan Hawke) to Céline (Julie Delpy) in the romantic drama "Before Sunset" (2004). He quickly tells her he?s kidding, which I believe is more or less true. But I think his edgy tone and demeanor indicate he's deliberately needling her. It seems to me he?s expressing an underlying anger and frustration, and he wants her to share his anguish.
I offer the above as just one small example of what I believe makes this film fascinating: while the main characters give forth a steady stream of verbiage, they use lots of indirection, and it's left up to the viewer to figure out what?s really going on inside their heads.
"Before Sunset" is one of the lowest keyed romantic movies I know. No one raises his or her voice, no one sheds a tear, and the physical intimacy between Jesse and Céline never even reaches the level of kissing on the lips. But they both sometimes speak with jarring frankness.
I would say that Jesse and Céline are probably the most loquacious and articulate romantic couple in movie history, and "Before Sunset" consists almost entirely of one long, rambling conversation between them. But director Richard Linklater ("School of Rock," "Waking Life," "Dazed and Confused") has added visual interest by setting their conversation in a series of charming locations as they meander about Paris.
Actually, Jesse and Céline were also the central characters in Linklater?s beloved "Before Sunrise" (1995), and they were played by Hawke and Delpy in that movie as well.
The earlier film was set in 1994 when the characters were 20-somethings who met on a train and spent several hours together in Vienna. "Before Sunset" takes place in 2003 and picks up the story nine years later.
I would describe "Before Sunset" as a delicate process where Jesse and Céline warily decide together whether or not they should become romantically involved. The stakes are high for both of them since Jesse has a wife and child and Céline has a boyfriend. And there's a ticking clock: a limo driver awaits to whisk Jesse to his 10 o?clock transatlantic flight.
I was impressed with the scene where Julie Delpy accompanies herself on guitar while she sings a song of her own composition titled "A Waltz for a Night." It's here that Céline fully reveals to Jesse her feelings about the hours they spent together in Vienna nine years earlier.
The movie is subtle, and some viewers seem puzzled by the ending. But if you think of the lyrics to the Nina Simone song that's playing on the soundtrack and you pay attention to the dialogue and behavior of the characters, I believe you'll know what Jesse and Céline are going to do.
I recognize that "Before Sunset" is not a movie everyone will like. The central characters don?t seem to me to be completely likable, and the film is extremely talky. Also, there are longueurs, and I think the movie's dialogue feels artificially constructed. But for me, the film's strength is that it shows the many different ways we use language.
There are almost no bonus materials on the "Before Sunset" DVD, but I did find the 10-minute making-of documentary worthwhile. In it director Richard Linklater, actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and producer Anne Walker-McBay describe how they went about making the film on a 15-day shooting schedule.
Below I've listed all the special features of the "Before Sunset" DVD.
DVD Details:
- Run Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R for Language and Sexual References
- Release Date: November 9, 2004
- Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
- English Dolby Digital 5.1
- French Dolby Digital 5.1 (Dubbed in Quebec)
- English Subtitles
- French Subtitles
- Spanish Subtitles
- Making-of Documentary: ?On the Set of ?Before Sunset?? (10 min.)
- Theatrical Trailer
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