Before Sunrise

There are just some movies you have to grow into. The more you’ve "lived it" and the more one can project your personal experiences into what is happening on screen, the more intense the final experience. In the first installment of Richard Linklater's trilogy, two people bump into each other on a train and start talking, bonding, and spending some magical time together (yes, I'm that pathetic). What got me the most about it was the bare fact that I just had to root for them so hard. I often finished their conversations for them in my head and tried to anticipate their reactions. There were a few times when I thought that this was pretty stupid and that I would have said it better :-) But as the film progresses, you realize that it's not really about anticipating reactions or tangible thoughts for the future. What's most valuable here is really the power of the moment (see the final projection of the places visited) and its multiplied value in situations where you experience it with someone you're just great with. Wow, Mr. Linklater. (12/21/2017)

Hard to describe beauty, in which there is no place for cynics. Just a little bit of empathy with both characters is enough, and let the wonderful feeling resonate within. I can't say that I have experienced something exactly like this, maybe just something remotely resembling it. Nevertheless, it elevated my experience to the limits of perfection. The actors are only three - Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, and Vienna. And it is one of the most natural trios ever on the screen. Such a movie I have always wanted to see. (01/30/2006)

I finally gathered my courage and five years after watching the second part I watched the third and then the first, which started it all. I had to strain my memory a little but I remembered it all in the end. Richard Linklater is a genius.Maybe not in everything, but as far as screenwriting and direction go he might be insurmountable. No one has ever been able to film such a romantic three-course opus before. I really like the spontaneity of Ethan Hawke’s and Julie Delpy’s encounter. I also like Ethan’s audacity to tell Julie on the train that he will walk around Vienna all night because he has no money, just to get her off the train and then pay at least three thousand shillings that night. I was fascinated by the inexhaustible number of dialogues that they lead with each other, be it about artists, love or just their families and everyday lives. In a way, this film fulfills the dream of everyone who thinks that everyone in this world is waiting for a soul mate, with whom everything will just click the moment they look at each other. Ethan and Julie are some of those who were this lucky, and I was glad to be a part of their meeting. (02/17/2015)

A beautiful example of how romance can look like. There is no need for any crazy twists, when they break up and find each other again, it simply is enough for them to meet once, for one evening, and experience it truly beautifully, romantically, kindly, so that they can remember it for the rest of their lives, and then part ways. I am quite curious about what the sequels of this movie are like. Ethan and Julie are a great match for each other. (12/03/2013)

Some time ago, by pure chance, I watched the final episode of the trilogy and the result was 4 stars and a feeling of time well invested. Before Sunrise had an even higher rating on FilmBooster than the last part, and there were enthusiastic comments to be found as well. So, I invited my wife to watch it, thinking it would be a pleasant romance and a safe bet. After a while, I looked at her, and in her eyes, I didn't see desperation, but definitely disinterest and the unspoken words "I really don't want to watch this..." After a bit, she actually said, "Couldn't that train at least derail?" I myself felt that it wasn't right. I didn't have a problem with the fact that there was continuous talking in the movie. The problem lies in the quality of the dialogues, in their content and message. It's basically just babbling. True, young Julie Delpy is nice to look at, but that's actually all the movie can offer me. The power of thoughts and emotions is not present for me. The success of the film lies in the ability and willingness of the viewer to project their own memories of a first date and love into the meeting of the two travelers. But I have never been this sentimental. Before dawn doesn't affect me at all, and it seems too banal and empty. Overall impression: 40%. (08/15/2017)