Before Sunset

Plot

It's nine years after Jesse and Celine first met; now, they encounter one another on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.

Release Year: 2004

Rating: 8.0/10 (62,756 voted)

Critic's Score: 90/100

Director:
Richard Linklater

Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff

Storyline
Jesse, a writer from the US, and Celine, a Frenchwoman working for an environment protection organization, acquainted nine years ago on the train from Budapest to Vienna, meet again when Jesse arrives in Paris for a reading of his new book. As they have only a few hours until his plane leaves, they stroll through Paris, talking about their experiences, views and whether they still love each other, although Jesse is already married with a kid.

Writers: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy

Cast:

Ethan Hawke
–

Jesse

Julie Delpy
–

Celine

Vernon Dobtcheff
–

Bookstore Manager

Louise Lemoine Torres
–

Journalist #1

Rodolphe Pauly
–

Journalist #2

Mariane Plasteig
–

Waitress

Diabolo
–

Philippe

Denis Evrard
–

Boat Attendant

Albert Delpy
–

Man at Grill

Marie Pillet
–

Woman in Courtyard

Taglines:
What if you had a second chance with the one that got away?

Details

Official Website:
Warner Bros [France] |
Warner Bros. [United States] |

Release Date: 17 June 2004

Filming Locations: France

Box Office Details

Budget: $10,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $311,194
(USA)
(4 July 2004)
(20 Screens)

Gross: $5,792,822
(USA)
(24 October 2004)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Jesse's last name is Wallace.

Goofs:

Continuity:
When Jesse and Celine sit on a bench in the park Jesse has his arm around Celine in one shot, in the next the his arm is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]

Journalist #1:
Do you consider the book to be autobiographical?

Jesse:
Uh, well, I mean… isn't everything autobiographical?

User Review

The only problem…

Rating: 10/10


…is that it ends. This is a fantastic film. It joins the handful of
movies where I think I liked the sequel even more than the original,
although I liked 'Before Sunrise' as well. Where Sunrise captured the
immediacy and urgency of perfect youthful love, Sunset reflects
beautifully on the aftermath of that perfection. I remember a line that
says "nothing that is complete breathes", and I think that is what we
see in this film. A perfect connection with another human is a blessing
and a curse; having experienced perfection a part of us stops
breathing, unable or unwilling to mar the perfection of that memory.

The dialogue is amazing, the acting is spot-on; this is a great film.
In some ways it felt more like reading a great novel than watching a
movie, in that I really felt like I knew the characters and was sad the
movie had to end. Kind of like saying goodbye to an old friend. If you
are an action movie kind of person, skip this flick because it will
bore you to tears. If, on the other hand, you like good dialogue, well
formed characters, and aren't quite jaded enough to have given up
completely on the idea of true love, don't miss this film.