Imagine meeting a complete stranger on a train, talking to him, realizing that there’s a connection and getting off the train with him to roam the streets of Venice for a night. Romantic, isn’t it? This is what the Celine did. She chose to get down the train with Jesse and gifted herself one beautiful romantic night that every girl who believes in love would dream of. But there’s a problem. Jesse is supposed to catch a plane to US the next morning, which means that they only have the time before sunrise.
Physical attractions are common, a mental connection is rare; and that is exactly what Celine and Jesse find between them. The conversations that they have not only leave them in awe for each other but also manages to mesmerize the audiences. The way Jesse talks about incarnation or the way Celine tells us about her understanding of magic and love surely impressed me. The most romantic moment for me was when they are shown sitting in a restaurant and Celine acts as though she is talking to her best friend on the phone about Jesse and tells her that she loves it when she feels his eyes on her when she is not looking; in that moment, Jesse looks at her as though she is all he would ever need.
You must have heard people say that when it’s right, you just know. That is exactly what Celine and Jesse must have felt that night as they start to dread the sunrise and start to reconsider their agreement of never seeing each other again. Their liking for each other becomes clear when they don’t exchange phone numbers or any other ways of contacting each other (because according to them, they would end up calling or writing each other once or twice and then the whole thing would just fade away) and instead, decide to meet at the same place after six months.
Before Sunrise is a real, subtle and a dialog driven film that would engage you if you are a fan of words and romance. Hats off to the writers, Richard Linklater and Kim Krishan for writing this masterpiece. And as far as Jesse and Celine are concerned, questions like what happens after six months, and do both of them show up, or do they meet etc are answered in the second part of this beautiful trilogy – Before Sunset.