Before Sunrise
Before Sunrise
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 3, 2025
I watched this the next morning after watching Before Sunrise. As I mentioned in that review, I wish I had let it settle a but before taking on the next two installments. When this film starts, I thought for sure that I was being set up for a dramatic final reveal as to who showed up at their original scheduled rendezvous and who didn’t. That notion is wiped away almost immediately though and instead with we follow Jesse and Céline processing their regret and pondering their own what if’s. How real are our memories of our past loves and lovers? What if their memories don’t line up with our own. Though I was at first disappointed in the way Before Sunrise somewhat undercuts the open-ended ending of the first film, I think it makes perfect sense in this exploration of romanticism vs pragmatism. Hawke and Delpy effortlessly reprise their roles; and again the uninterrupted long takes and naturalistic dialogue just completely invests you from start to finish. I’m not as big a fan of the ending here. While technically open ended again, I think Linklater is much more clear with his intentions on what happens next.