CATRIONA PAUL at the movies.

WRITER-DIRECTOR Richard Linklater introduced earnest young lovers Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) nine years ago in Before Sunrise. The American tourist and the French student met on a train and fell in love wandering round Venice. The 12-hour date finished with a promise to meet six months later at the station platform where they said goodbye.
  
In Before Sunset, it is clear that the rendezvous didn’t happen. However, Jesse has written a best-seller about the encounter. A tour stop in Paris provides Celine with the perfect opportunity to track him down. Their relationship picks up where they left off – with a conversation that meanders round love, relationships and society as they mosey through Paris.
 
It is satisfying to discover why the couple never met up and what has happened in the intervening years. Time has not stood still – scenes from the first film show, in particularly stark contrast, the young Hawke and his older, more haggard self. But there is also evidence of cynicism and disappointment tempering their early naivety and romanticism.
  
The film plays with the idea that by failing to keep the date, and thereby failing true love, the subsequent nine years were essentially a mistake, a blip on the way to destiny. But the audience might equally wonder whether if Jesse and Celine had embarked on a relationship in their early 20s, they’d have appreciated the rarity of their connection.
  
Linklater has boldly created a character-driven film, where the action is literally all talk. Credit must be afforded Hawke and Delpy who helped write their parts, giving the dialogue credibility even when that means irritation – certain lines and songs could only be excused by a lover.
  
If you are happy to ponder with Jesse and Celine, Before Sunset is just the laziest, most romantic way to half-consider life’s big issues.
  
BEFORE SUNSET (15)
General release

Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torres, Rodolphe Pauly
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 80 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2004
 

© Catriona Paul, 2004