Intuitive souls of two young adults ignite in romantic drama

    

Before Sunrise, released in 1995, the first of a series of three films to date, is an unconventional love story. Directed by Richard Linklater, the story revolves around Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), a young man and a woman who find themselves sitting near each other on a train going to different countries in Europe. Jesse is an American who is returning home from Madrid and he plans to get off the train in Vienna to catch a flight back to the U.S. while Celine, a French student, is on her way home to Paris after visiting her grandmother in Budapest.

The pair strikes up a conversation and immediately form a connection. They discuss their perspectives on life and society and how they were brought up. In a moment of total spontaneity, Jesse urges Celine to depart the train at Vienna with him. The pair spends the first couple of hours taking in the sights of Vienna including old churches, statues, and the Danube River.

As Jesse and Celine spend the entire afternoon and evening together, they share deeper, intimate thoughts. For instance, they both agree that rebellion is natural and that it’s instinctive to want to do the opposite of what their parents, or society want or expect from them.
Jesse and Celine defy convention in one major and obvious way: they agree not to exchange phone numbers or addresses or stay in touch with each other. With their lives being so different, living on opposite sides of the world, it is very likely they will not be able to see each other again. So they choose not to converse because it would be too difficult to remain friends because they will be reminded of the unfulfilled longing they have to see each other.

 What makes Jesse and Celine’s relationship special is they value true, old-fashioned romance where it can only happen for one moment in time; a chance meeting leads to a once in a lifetime opportunity. The idea that they won’t see each other or stay in touch adds an element of intrigue making their experience that much more valuable.

In this day and age, the temptation to contact the other would be harder to resist today with technology so readily available at our fingertips with outlets like email, social networking sites, and smart phones to make communication faster.

Linklater does a very good job illustrating how spending a day with someone can be quite romantic, even with the knowledge that they very well may never see or hear from each other again. It’s about cherishing those rare special parts of life keeping it intriguing and enriching. The story of Jesse and Celine continues in films that are released in nine-year intervals, with Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).