Review

Review Date: 11-July-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Jubilation!

Before Sunset (2004)

When I heard that Richard Linklater was planning a sequel to his strangers-on-a-train masterpiece "Before Sunrise," I was appalled. The glory of that picture was that it conveyed the huge importance of a chance romantic meeting without relying on a prosaic happily-ever-after ending; the point being (to paraphrase one of its characters) that what evidence of god there is on Earth exists in the space between two people. Why, therefore, would we need to find out what happened next? Could Linklater himself believe that the story required resolution? Wouldn't adding another chapter diminish the beauty of the original?

Nine years have passed since "Before Sunrise," and it appears that Linklater and his stars/co-writers Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have carefully considered these questions. In addition to addressing such issues in the movie's opening sequence, they have crafted a film that plausibly describes what happened next and justifies itself by deepening the concept of two people with the most intimate and powerful of connections.

The first movie took place during a single night in Vienna; "Before Sunset" takes place during a single afternoon in Paris. American Jesse (Hawke) has returned to Europe to promote his best-selling book and runs into French Celine (Delpy), suddenly but not without anticipation. Once again taking advantage of the window of time before his plane leaves, the two perambulate the city enjoying an instant and easy communion. Their fascinating, nonstop conversation touches upon the expected (the rendezvous they had planned almost a decade ago) and the unexpected (the relative horniness of men on each side of the pond), growing progressively more revealing as one hour leads to the next and they surprise themselves with how much they had hoped to meet again. In character and expression, Jesse and Celine seem the same as before, but they have accumulated cares as adults and consequently have a different and stronger need for the sustenance their relationship extends.

Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy masterfully maintain the balance between keeping their source material in sight and creating something that stands on its own. Although a full appreciation of "Before Sunset" undoubtedly requires a knowledge of the original (allusions like Celine's reaching to touch Jesse's hair elicit nostalgic smiles from established fans), it offers a distinct view of individuals at a specific time of life who have problems, opinions, and memories worth listening to. It also has a particular tone: whereas the first movie gave the impression of holding on to a moment while keeping sunrise at bay, this one has the feeling of moving toward something to be revealed when the sun goes down. In this respect, "Before Sunset" is both more gritty and more romantic than its predecessor. When they first found each other, Jesse and Celine hungered for experience more than anything and trusted to fate that they would find it; now, they have encountered all the major events that generally make up a life and are ready to choose one — love — over all other considerations.

This very aspect of "Before Sunset" explains why it will probably never join "Before Sunrise" on my list of all-time favorites, even though it's a worthy sequel. The first film concerns magic more than romance, a magic spontaneously generated by a man, a woman, and a place whose sacredness is self-contained and serves as its own consequence. With admirable realism but diminished wonder, the second part of the tale shows the impact this brush with the divine had on the characters, even to the point of causing them pain, and the future they forge because of it. "Before Sunset" brings the story of Jesse and Celine up-to-date in the best way possible, but its resultant honesty contains a taste of bittersweet.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.