A surprise!

Films that amount to nothing more than an extended conversation between two characters are extremely rare; the only other example of this genre I can recall is My Dinner With Andre. Undertaking such a film poses obvious risks, particularly in America where audience complaints--nothing happens, people just wander around talking, yadda-yadda--are easily predictable. I got Before Sunrise from Netflix after reading several very positive reviews of its sequel from last year, Before Sunset, and I was not disappointed. Cha and I watched it last night late in the hopes she would have a snow holiday today (she does), and we both liked it a great deal. The leads (Ethan Hawke and Judy Delpy) rarely strike false notes, and are often magnificent--this is particularly surprising given that much of this dialogue must be improvised. One scene, shortly after they've met and decided to spend the day together, features the two of them in a listening booth at a record store, each trying subtly to check the other out, each shy, embarrassed, but very curious. I found watching these actors at work here very real--painful, awkward, intense, and gratifying all at once. There are some in-jokes for Freud fans, and a strange reference to the dizzying Ferris wheel scene from The Third Man. Perhaps a love of Vienna fueled much of my enthusiasm for this film and its two lost seekers, as various landmarks caused "oh yeah" moments for us (has it really been 8 years since we visited Vienna? Yes!). Before Sunrise ends powerfully, and I'm eager to see the sequel, for which many others have waited ten years.

This is only my second Ethan Hawke film--the other was also surprisingly good: