Before Sunrise (Film Review)

1995 Columbia Pictures
Directed by: Richard Linklater; Written by: Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan
Starring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 101 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 10/10

Jesse and Céline are early-20-somethings in that transitory phase of life where you're trying to figure the world out, and who you want to be in it. Jesse has been riding trains through Europe aimlessly, his original plans cut short, as he waits for his flight back to America. Céline ends up on one of Jesse's trains, as she heads back to grad school in Paris after visiting her grandmother in Budapest. During this chance afternoon meeting, and on the day before Jesse's flight home, Céline and Jesse strike up a conversation. The intelligent, soulful duo soon find they enjoy talking to each other so much, they decide to get off at the Vienna stop to spend more time together, until the morning trains take them in opposite directions. They don't have money for a hotel, so instead they roam around town and talk the night away. That's Before Sunrise.
A lesser film would either have the duo spout profundities or babble inanities, but writers, Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan, along with actors, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, have created two fully-realized characters who actually speak like real people. Jesse, on the surface, spouts rapid-fire cynical ideas about how the world works, and Céline gently ribs him while offering rejoinders. They test these waters, reach a level of comfort on whatever topic they're bandying about, and go deeper...like actual strangers getting to know each other would. Hawke and Delpy sink into these characters as if they're playing themselves (and they're not). Linklater, who also directs, stays out of the way, yet still adds plenty of subtle, metaphorical imagery that mirrors what's happening between Jesse and Céline.
When creating cinema that aims for realism, there's always a tough balancing act between hitting upon the actuality of life, and making it artful and interesting. Before Sunrise rapturously walks that fine line to incredible effect. At this point, it's nearly been two decades since I've been in that stage of life, and I can recognize when one of these characters says something they think is deep that's actually a bit trite--I said a lot of the same stuff. Conversely, when they hit upon a nugget of pure truth and connection, it's as magical as I remember it being so long ago...when I'd spout off other's ideas, along with my own ill-conceived half-thoughts, and yet suddenly strike gold. This is a beautiful film about human connection.
When I was 23, I found myself in a similar situation. I took whatever money I could find after college and bought a cheap flight to Germany. I stayed in a friend's dorm, then traveled around with him and his sister for a couple weeks. Maybe I should have kept a day at the end just to wander by myself, to leave a little room for fate.