What Would You Do “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset”?

Richard Linklater, director of films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, are both relationship centered movies. Sunrise was made in 1995, and Sunset was made in 2004. Both are vastly different movies, but do a great job of telling a story and then picking up that story 9 years later.

In Sunrise, Ethan Hawke plays Jesse, a traveling American in Europe. He meets Celine, played by Julie Delpy, on a train and has an engrossing conversation with her for much of the ride. Wanting to spend more time with her, he convinces her to get off the train with him in Vienna. He's flying out early the next day, and doesn't want to miss a chance to get to know her. She's hesitant at first, for obvious reasons, but is intrigued by this adventurous man she is attracted to. Agreeing, they get off the train and spend the remaining time exploring the city. The dialog was amazing. The writers did a great job of character development, and it’s enjoyable getting to know the characters as they reveal themselves to the other person. Both were imperfect; Jesse was bitter about life, and Celine was a bit naive. There is much to identify with much of what they had to say- both the good and the bad. It’s easy to agree with Jesse at times and with Celine at others.

In the sequel Sunset, Ethan is a successful author, writing a "fictional" book about a traveling American. 9 years have passed, and in the meantime Ethan has found success, while Celine has become bitter by the hardship of life. It's a bit of a role reversal, but one that is believable and identifiable. However, instead of spanning hours, this movie spanned a real- time conversation, lasting about 80 minutes. It was simply them walking and talking from his book signing around the city to her apartment. It was brilliant! It seemed so much shorter, because they just talked and talked, with no action or time span between events. It was all self- analysis, relationship analysis, analysis of each other, and analysis of life. There’s much to agree and disagree with that they had to say, but the conversation was real. It was about real life, about real fears, frustrations, and happiness.

These films do a good job of exploring relationships in a fresh way. The honesty, struggles, and humor of life portrayed in the film is refreshing to see. There are few movies with dialogue like these two, and that’s a shame. When Jesse shares about his frustration with women to Celine in Sunrise, it’s understandable to cringe. If you’re a guy, you understand what Jesse is feeling, but wouldn’t say what he said to another woman. If you’re a woman, you might roll your eyes, seeing the issue from the female side.

Moments like these are what make both films shine.