Before Sunset

before sunset
Originally uploaded by Struthers.

Before Sunset is that rarest of commodities, a sequel made for reasons other than a cash-in on previous success.
Nine years after the release Before Sunrise, director Richard Linklater (Tape, Waking Life) has thrust together Jesse (Ethan Hawk) and Celine (Julie Delpy) to again walk around a picturesque European city, this time Paris, discussing where their lives have gone, and ponder where they might go from here.
Written by Delpy, Hawk and Linklater this is a philosophical musing about life, the paths we choose and the paths that choose us.
Hawk is a novelist who has written a book about their previous encounter and is at the end of a European press junket when Delpy appears in the bookshop window.
We watch as they re-build their trust through small revelations, Jesse apologetic and eager to please, while Celine is more coy, having read a newspaper article about Jesse's life with his wife and daughter.
There is a real sense of chemistry to this couple, who after an initial awkwardness, fall into the comfortable patter and playful flirtations of their previous Vienna stroll.
Despite having both moved on with their lives (Celine has a boyfriend), they have each been trapped by what they remember as that one perfect night they shared nine years ago.
With simple camera work and a simple story, Before Sunset is a simple joy. It's a joy to see a film that is concerned with people, and with decisions that aren't life and death, but are none-the-less life altering.
Before Sunset is joyous and wonderful and will leave you wanting more of this wonderful couple, and a romantic stroll through the streets of Paris.

Before Sunset rates 4 stars