Before Sunset
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Director: Richard Linklater
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures
Year: 2004
Watching Before Sunset isn't like watching most movies. This is an almost interactive experience. We feel like we're spending time in the characters' company. We're in the moment with them. This is our third opportunity to peer into their lives. (They also appeared in a segment of Linklater's animated Waking Life.) The director has expressed the desire to visit them once again, but, if he never gets around to it, at least he has given us an ending that is equally more and less tantalizing than the conclusion of Before Sunrise. If I had to choose between the two movies, I would admit that the first film is the stronger of the two, but Before Sunset is a worthy follow-up, and a must-see motion picture for those who appreciate this kind of story. In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.
2004 James Berardinelli
Posted in Best Films Watched In 2004 | Permalink