It was summer of '94 when Jesse and Celine first met on a train for Vienna. On that fateful day, they knew it was love they had but eventually, they had to take different paths as soon as the sun rose. After a failed tryst, nine years have passed and Jesse was in France for a book tour and there they meet again. Before sunset, Jesse had to decide if he was to stay with Celine or catch that plane back to the United States. Finally after nine years, Jesse is at the airport bidding his son from his ex-wife goodbye going to the US. Here we learn that he did stay with Celine before sunset nine years ago and to everyone's surprise, they are now parents to twin daughters and are on a vacation in Greece.
Just like the previous films, the movie mainly comprises of Jesse and Celine walking around in some place, this time Greece, and talking about their life and views on all the things this world has to offer. What makes it different though is that first of all, before they go on with their one on one conversation, they now have other people with them to join their conversation. Just like married couple do. Talking to other couples and exchanging notes and ideas on how they live their married life. Just like the movie Before Sunset, this film offers quite a development of its characters. The trilogy runs on a concept that all of the films take place in real time with real people. So given this fact, indeed, nine years have passed since Before Sunset and no human being would not change after nine years. Especially after getting married. So what this film shows is the life that couples go through once they are married.
As established, Jesse and Celine are no longer just a couple, they are now husband and wife and parents to twin daughters. Just like any couple do, especially the married ones, they would fight over things such as jobs, fidelity, hierarchy, sex and a whole lot more. Their type of conversation is now different from what it was compared to the first time they met on the train and the time they met again in France. One of the most memorable conversations they had was probably the one in the beginning of the film. After bickering about Celine's plan of changing her job, they proceeded to talk about a friend of theirs and his love life. I find it really funny since never did they talk about any other couple in the first two films. One can say that this comes naturally at the point where people are already married and talking about other people's relationships can be a good and interesting subject matter.
The film, as expected, is still philosophical and psychological as ever. There were lots of things they talked about and one conversation was entirely devoted to the evolution of love. The conversation in that scene was very interesting since they had prepared a conversation between a young couple, a middle-aged couple, and an old couple. The exchanges of ideas were very insightful yet still natural. The topic of feminism and masculinism (yes there is such word), just like the previous films, were also brought up, but this time with more information and perspectives coming from different generations and experiences.
By the time Jesse and Celine are now given the chance to be alone and talk with one another, they give us a brief background of what happened during the nine years they had together after their reunion in France. They bicker a bit but soon patch things up but it is clear that there is an ominous air between them. They end up going to this hotel since a friend of theirs encouraged them to stay the night there and be alone together. Sexy time happens but let me tell you now that it doesn't push through (no pun intended) since they end up fighting.
I won't spoil the rest but basically, what this movie tells us is that life is not always a fairy tale. There will always be ups and downs and it can never be avoided. What's always important is that by the end of the day, you patch things up and understand one another.
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's acting is worth praising as always. I love how they give life to the entire movie. The way they deliver their lines, they make it so natural it looks like it was filmed spontaneously with the actors improvising their lines. Never has endless talking been so dramatic and exciting at the same time. I don't think any other film could imitate this film, and if they do, I wish them luck. The film just like its predecessors again is shot in continuous takes whenever they have a sweet conversation. You don't need to have a sharp eye to notice that when the two of them were fighting in the hotel room, the shots are now different. From a once continuous shot, it now makes use of cuts and is focused on who is speaking. I find this simple trick genius in order to show the speaker's anger and make the audience feel it.
Once again, Richard Linklater's did not fail in giving us the realistic romance we all want. He is back with this masterpiece to produce a trilogy of classic pieces of romantic films. Right here, right now, I want to say that I am pretty confident that this trilogy would definitely be remembered forever as one of the most romantic films ever made.
Rating: 5/5
