Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.
Before Sunset is a rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor in emotional depth. The near-real-time, single-conversation structure feels genuinely singular — Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke co-wrote dialogue that feels lived-in and improvised yet is meticulously crafted. The acting is exceptional: Hawke and Delpy carry the entire film on naturalistic, nuanced performances with almost no support from other cast members. Novelty is high because the film's conception — two people walking through Paris for 80 minutes as the clock ticks — is executed with an unmistakable, one-of-a-kind voice that no other film quite replicates. The ending ('Baby, you are gonna miss that plane') is one of cinema's great final moments, ambiguous yet emotionally complete. Cinematography is competent and atmospheric but largely functional, serving the dialogue rather than distinguishing itself visually. The plot is deliberately thin by design — the 'what happens' matters less than the texture of the conversation — which is a creative strength but limits pure narrative complexity.