Before Sunrise

Richard Linklater’s "Before Sunrise" is pretty much the blueprint for what every wannabe-intellectual, meet-cute romance aspires to be. The plot is beautifully simple: two strangers, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy), meet on a train and decide to wander Vienna together, knowing they only have one night before parting ways. That’s pretty much it—no dramatic plot twists, no larger-than-life declarations. Just two people talking and falling for each other, one genuinely fascinating conversation at a time.

What makes this movie stand out is how anti-Hollywood it feels for a romance released in the mid-'90s. The pacing is slow, but intentionally so. You actually get the sense that these two are falling into each other’s orbit in real time, not racing toward a contrived rom-com climax. Linklater lets awkward silence breathe—sometimes too much so, depending on your mood—but it’s refreshing, because that’s how first meetings really go.

The dialogue is ridiculously natural. There are moments that feel unscripted, like when Jesse jokes about reincarnation or Céline speaks passionately about feminism and love. Both Hawke and Delpy absolutely sell the spontaneous intimacy—you can smell the cigarette smoke and hear the city in the background. Watching them makes you want to pack a backpack and buy a train ticket with no return.

There’s also a dreamy, slightly melancholic tone that permeates everything. Shot on real European streets, the cinematography is unglamorous in the best way. Vienna feels lived-in, mysterious, and slightly out of focus—as if the city, like the relationship, exists on borrowed time. It's romantic, but not in the syrupy way, more in that “life is fleeting, isn’t it?” kind of way.

If I had to nitpick, there are stretches where the pacing just drags. I adore this movie’s honesty, but if you’re not in the mood for philosophical ramblings or long shots of people staring wistfully at statues, you might get a little fidgety. Sometimes you wish the characters would stop musing on mortality and just kiss already. But then again, that’s sort of the point.

Ultimately, "Before Sunrise" is the rare romance that respects its audience. It trusts you to care about two strangers and lets you fill in the blanks. It’s the sort of film you watch when you want to feel something real and a little bit sad about how good, fleeting connections can be.