Utterly Beautiful Love Story (Before Sunrise (DVD))

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Before Sunrise (DVD)
Date:	09/05/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Dialogue, direction and acting

Disadvantages: None

Before Sunrise

This is a thoroughly, unashamedly beautiful look at love and romance, is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?

Can we share intense experiences with somebody over the course of a day and then return to our normal lives and carry on as though nothing happened?

These are some of the questions asked in this wonderfully mature film from Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.

Whats it about?

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is an American tourist seeing the sights of Europe on a train from Budapest to Vienna he meets the beautiful Celine (Julie Delpy), a French Student. They immediately build up a natural rapport through jokes, teasing and the sharing of thoughts, Jesse makes a decision he may always remember to ask Celine if she will spend the day and evening with him in Vienna, as he is flying home the next day.

Celine agrees and what follows is the building of a relationship through discussion, the sharing of experiences, regrets, hopes and dreams. We get to know both Jesse and Celine and watch their friendship develop into something much deeper and more profound.

The Setting

This film is shot in Vienna and it is a stunning backdrop for the film, we see them doing the touristy things and follow them constantly as they do so, but we also see them wandering lost in a world devoted to the two of them, as they wander aimlessly talking, confiding and developing a bond of friendship and something more.

The setting is an important and yet irrelevant aspect of the film, it could be made anywhere but Vienna adds a romantic charm through its stunning city.

The Actors

Ethan Hawke is generally an actor who looks out of his depth, he does not have a natural gait when acting classically as he proved in the ill-devised remake of Hamlet, however in this film he steps beyond his poster boy looks and plays the gawky, awkward fratty American tourist to perfection, his dialogue is smart and yet filled with inexperience and hope, his prose is awkward next to that of Delpy, but in this film that is part of the charm and makes the basis of their relationship much more realistic.

Julie Delpy, plays a slightly more world wise French student, she combines her beauty with a razor sharp wit and a whole array of intelligent, occasionally over thought through ideas about the world and her place in it, her overconfidence combines with Hawke's gawkiness and makes the relationship combine brilliantly and seem so real.

The dialogue was mainly improvised and this shows as both actors give much more to this than they would if just reading lines, they throw themselves into this film fully and the dialogue is at times beautiful and at times realistically awkward or bland. Linklater allows us to follow the actors everywhere, we don't cut from scene to scene we follow them, the film has a grainy lo-fi texture from this which just makes it feel even more realistic and romantic as we are able to watch every aspect of this burgeoning romance.

My View

I love this film, from watching it at the cinema as a teenager and deciding it was the most romantic film ever, it has always followed me, the though that love can come and go, just as realistically as it can be with us always, we can have fleeting romances that change us and ones which don't change a thing, our life can be utterly amended by one person, or not. This film is so romantic because of its basis in reality, we wish for Jesse to miss his flight and stay with Celine, but we and they both know that this is real life and it may not happen, or it may, we're not set up from the start for a happy ending so if it happens or not the film itself is the key to our enjoyment not some grandstanding finish.

This is a realistic and funny film, full of great lines and great acting, both actors are excellent, Linklater is fantastic, his direction is assured and so natural. The film is beautiful, I love the idea of love unfulfilled or a love that is a secret between two people who never need to share it with anyone, as it is so perfect.

I have eulogised enough, I cannot write words to do justice to what a beautiful timeless film this is, it is followed by 'Before Sunset' which is just as beautiful in a different way and apparently the plan is for a third film in the trilogy to be made when the actors are elderly, a kind of reflection on live and life, this is an amazing idea as we see two people who will always be in love through the three ages of their lives.

Please watch this film if you love life or love, you will not be disappointed.

The Cast:


Ethan Hawke ... Jesse

Julie Delpy ... Celine
Andrea Eckert ... Wife on Train
Hanno Pöschl ... Husband on Train
Karl Bruckschwaiger ... Guy on Bridge
Tex Rubinowitz ... Guy on Bridge
Erni Mangold ... Palm Reader
Dominik Castell ... Street Poet
Haymon Maria Buttinger ... Bartender
Harald Waiglein ... Guitarist in Club
Bilge Jeschim ... Belly Dancer
Kurti ... Percussionist
Hans Weingartner ... Cafe Patron
Liese Lyon ... Cafe Patron
Peter Ily Huemer ... Cafe Patron



Where to buy the DVD:

You can buy it on its own for £4.99 on its own through Play although I would recommend buying it with Before Sunset for the same price through Play. You should watch the films together or over consecutive weekends to get a real understanding of the second film in all its glory.

Summary: Utterly Beautiful Love Story