I was originally planning to write this blog post about Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, which is probably the best film I’ve seen in the past few weeks. However, a friend of mine, who sometimes likes to ask me for movie recommendations, asked me for a slightly sad movie about love. I recommended to her Before Sunrise by Richard Linklater, which is not the focus of this blog post, but I’ll explain that later. Before Sunrise is the story of two people, an American man, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French woman, Céline (Julie Delpy), meeting on the train and spending 24 hours together before Jesse has to fly home to America. This film is fantastic. Richard Linklater is known for making “hangout movies,” chill movies with not a lot of plot. Before Sunrise is exactly that, but as we see Jesse and Céline fall deeper and deeper in love in the streets of Vienna, the looming 24 hour deadline makes this romance a tragedy.

Why I chose to write about Before Sunset rather than Before Sunrise is because I think that a lot of sequels are trashy, money grabs. However, The Before Trilogy (yes there is a third movie, Before Midnight) does it differently. I’m sorry if I am spoiling anything for anyone reading, but like I said there is not a lot of plot involved, so there is not a lot to spoil.

Richard Linklater never planned on making a sequel to Before Sunrise, but when he decided to,  he invited Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy to write it with him. Before Sunset finds Jesse and Céline nine years later during another chance encounter, this time in Paris. In honor of the special night they shared long ago, they decide to spend the rest of the day together before Jesse’s flight home. This film has a much different tone than the first, but still the very same style in that the whole film is Jesse and Céline talking, sharing their points of view on things. Now that Jesse and Céline are in their thirties their outlook on life is much more cynical. Their conversations of sex and love are not connotated with the rosey lense of a wide eyed twenty year old. They talk a lot about the institute of marriage, its traps, how sex is different as they age, and how their appreciation for life has changed over time.

If you’ve never seen these films before, this style may not sound appealing to you, and trust me, I get it. Usually I like a more traditionally structured movie, but The Before Trilogy is the best exception. Jesse and Céline’s conversations are not meaningless, every single thing they say I felt on a much deeper level. They talk about things I have thought about, worried about, wondered about. Not only that, but also they are incredible characters. All interest would be lost if the film consisted of two boring or unappealing characters talking, but Jesse and Céline are very loveable, and we are rooting for them the whole time.

I think that these movies are incredibly underrated. I don’t ever hear anyone say that these are their favorite movies, and after righting this post, I might have to reconsider what my top 5 favorite movies are, because these films are so incredibly good.