Before Sunset (2004) is an American film and the sequel to Before Sunrise (1995). Like its predecessor, the film was directed by Richard Linklater. However, this time Linklater shares screenplay credit with both actors from the movies, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Linklater also shares story credit with the original Before Sunrise screenwriter Kim Krizan.
Delpy also wrote two songs featured in the film. A third was included in the closing credits and movie soundtrack.
This film is noted for its use of the Steadicam for tracking shots and its use of long takes, with the longest of the Steadicam takes at about 11 minutes.[1] Noteworthy too is that the film takes place essentially in real time, i.e. the time elapsed in the story is also the run time of the film. Furthermore, the sequel was also released nine years after Before Sunrise, the same amount of time that has lapsed in the plot since the events of the first movie.
Hawke had suggested the possibility of further films in the series. He said that it would be nice to develop further the course of their relationship.[2] The film appeared in the wake of Hawke's divorce from Uma Thurman, and some commentators drew parallels between Hawke's own life and the character of Jesse in the film.[3] Additional comment has noted that both Hawke and Delpy incorporated elements of their own lives into the screenplay,[1][4] such as the fact that Delpy lived for several years in New York City.
The movie was filmed in 15 days, on a budget of about USD $2 million. Hawke commented on the reason for making the film:
"It's not like anybody was begging us to make a second film. We obviously did it because we wanted to."[5]
Plot
Nine years have passed since the events of Before Sunrise, when Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) had met in Vienna. Since then, Jesse has written a novel, This Time, inspired by his time with Celine, and the book has become an American bestseller. To help sales in Europe, Jesse does a book tour. The last stop of the tour is Paris, and Jesse is doing a reading at the bookstore Shakespeare and Company. As Jesse talks with his audience, flashbacks are shown of him and Celine in Vienna; the memories of their night together have clearly remained with him despite it being nine years later. Three journalists are present at the bookstore, interviewing Jesse: a romantic who is convinced the book's main characters meet again, a cynic who is convinced that they don't, and a third one who, despite wanting them to meet again, remains doubtful they actually do. They represent the three possible ways a viewer might guess what the aftermath of Before Sunrise might be, according to his or her own personality. Celine appears in the audience and sees him, and he, in turn, recognizes her. Jesse has a short time before his plane departs and invites Celine to share it with him.
However, once the presentation is over, the bookstore manager reminds him he's got a plane to catch and must leave for the airport in a little more than an hour, and so just like in Before Sunrise, Celine and Jesse's reunion is constrained by time. Just like in the prequel, the characters are thus forced to make the best of what little time they have together, and this makes it easier for their conversations to become ever more personal, starting out with the usual thirty-something's themes of work and politics and then, with ever increasing passion, approaching their love for each other, just as their time together is running out.
As they talk, each reveals what has happened since their first meeting. Both are now in their early thirties. Jesse, now a writer, is married and has a son. Celine has become an advocate for the environment, lived in America for a time, and has a boyfriend, a photojournalist. It becomes clear in the course of their talk that both are dissatisfied to varying degrees with their lives. Jesse reveals that he only stays with his wife out of love for his son. Celine says that she does not see her boyfriend very much because he is so often on assignment.
Early in their coversation, they broach the subject of why they did not meet as promised, six months after their first encounter. It turns out that Jesse had returned to Vienna, as promised, but Celine did not, because her grandmother had suddenly died before the scheduled date of the meeting. Because Jesse and Celine had never exchanged addresses, there was no way for them to contact each other, which resulted in their missed connection.
Their conversation as they traverse Paris places them in various venues, including a café, a garden, a bateau mouche, and Jesse's hired car for his stay in Paris. Their old feelings for each other are slowly rekindled, even with tension and regret over the missed meeting earlier, as they realize that nothing else in their lives has matched their one prior night together in Vienna. Jesse eventually admits that he wrote the book in the distant hope of meeting Celine again one day. She replies that the book brought back painful memories for her. At one point, in the hired car, during a tense moment when Jesse is confessing his loveless, near sexless marriage, Celine reaches her hand out to touch Jesse but pulls back just as he turns to her.
In the concluding scene, Celine and Jesse arrive at her apartment. Jesse had learned that Celine plays the guitar and persuades her to play a waltz song for him. The waltz (which was written by Julie Delpy herself) is revealed through the lyrics to be about their brief encounter.
Jesse then plays a Nina Simone CD on the stereo system. Celine dances by herself to the song "Just in Time" as Jesse watches her. As Celine imitates Simone, she mutters to Jesse, "Baby ... you are gonna miss that plane." As the camera slowly pans in, Jesse smiles while nervously fidgeting with his wedding ring and ambiguously responds, "I know," leaving the viewer to guess whether he stays or leaves, just like the three journalists who interviewed Jesse at the beginning of the film.
Critical reception
Before Sunset has earned very positive reviews since its release. It currently holds a 94% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes[6], and was assigned a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 by Metacritic based on 39 reviews from mainstream publications.[7] It also appears on 28 critics' top 10 lists of the best films of 2004.[8]
Awards and nominations
- Awards
- Nominations
References
- ^ a b Lee Marshall (2004-07-19). "Love that goes with the flow". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/07/19/bfhawk18.xml. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ^ James Wood (2005-06-11). "The last word". The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1503574,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ Dan Halpern (2005-10-08). "Another sunrise". The Guardian. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,1587489,00.html&from=storyrhs. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ S.F. Said (2004-07-09). "Keeping the dream alive". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=UDDNPETQG4EXLQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/arts/2004/07/09/bflink09.xml. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ^ Geoffrey Macnab (2005-10-08). "Forget me not". The Guardian. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,1241288,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ "Before Sunset Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/before_sunset/. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ^ "Before Sunset reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/beforesunset. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ^ "Metacritic: 2004 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2004/toptens.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
External links
