Before Sunrise / Before Sunset (Wide Screen)

Advantages: It's real, it's natural, it's poignant, it's a perfect sequel.
Disadvantages: None.

...Back in 1995 a small independent film called Before Sunrise came out and did quite well, winning the Silver Bear award at the Berlin film festival and acquiring something of a cult following, not least due to its open ended will they or won't they ending. Now, nine years later, director Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have come back together to make a sequel. As a fan of the first film it was always a risk that a sequel would take away from it, ruin the mystery of the ending, but this is a misplaced fear. Before Sunset not only recaptures the magic but retrospectively adds depth and poignancy to its predecessor. In Before Sunrise two young people, the American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French Celine (Julie Delpy), met on a train and spent an evening and a night exploring Vienna and talking and maybe, for a moment... Read review

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Advantages: Enchanting, Romantic, beautifully shot, Excellent dialogue
Disadvantages: You won't like it if you don't like films with a lot of talking in! Otherwise, none.

...on the big screen, it slowly gained popularity on its release to video, and then the 2004 release of a sequal, Before Sunset ensured that the DVD has become a must have in any film buffs collection. Jesse (Ethan Hawke), a young American student who has just been ditched by his girfriend is on a train travelling through Europe when he gets chatting to Celine (Julie Delpy), a French girl of about the same age. She is on her way to Paris, he is heading out from Vienna to catch a plane home, but he convinces her to get of the train with him in Vienna so they can hang out and explore the city together before they have to go their seperate ways in the morning. The film then follows them through the evening and the night to the next morning as they wander around Vienna together. The film is beautifully shot - I particularly love the scene... Read review

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Advantages: Original in many ways, Moving, Thought-provoking
Disadvantages: Takes some of the prequel's magic away

...to have such a meticulous sequel to a successful film, as it is pretty easy to rest on your laurels, try to cash in, produce something that is too similar or too different… The list goes on and it is expectedly harder for romantic movies which, after all, rarely get second parts. Still, “Before Sunset” welcomes the challenge and rises through to completely live up to the legend of its predecessor. ***The Prequel*** Jesse’s book depicts the events of “Before Sunrise” the 1995 critically acclaimed film that captured the hearts of romantics around the world. It’s a really smart move, allowing you to appreciate the sequel even if you haven’t seen the original. In “Before Sunrise” the protagonists build their fantastic rapport; in “Before Sunset” they already have it. If we needed to see the first movie to acknowledge it, “Before Sunset” would... Read review

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