Saturday, June 3, 2017

Movie of the Month: 'Before Sunset'

Nine years after the trio of Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and director Richard Linklater dazzled and charmed audiences with their off-the-cuff cult classic, Before Sunrise, they returned with a sequel just as beautiful. The sequel, Before Sunset, centers around the American male and French woman who met in Europe a decade before and they rekindle their romance and lives after meeting Paris. He is there as an acclaimed author on a book tour promoting the novel of the chance encounter he had with the French woman. She, living in Paris now, goes to see him speak and take credit for being his muse. The duo spend the afternoon together and catch up on the lives they have led since their chance meeting. Without a script and just a basic story idea, like its predecessor, Before Sunset, showcases a real time love story with two people at a crossroads in their lives. Following the film's release, it was listed on many of 2004's "Best of" year end lists as well as earning an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. If anyone ever said sequels suck, never saw Before Sunset and the impact it had on cinema and audiences around the globe.