Before Sunrise

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Before Sunrise speaks as much to the mind as to the heart, and much of what it says is likely to strike a responsive chord -- a rare and special accomplishment for any motion picture.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It's a lovely and wistful celebration of youth, time and moments of connection -- and about the experience of living in the midst of a simple, perfect day that you know you'll remember for the rest of your life.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Christopher Harris

Before Sunrise is a film that first startles you with its simplicity, then bowls you over with its complexity.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

If Linklater goes to a bit of an extreme here, it's in making both characters so intelligent and sincere, so ardent and giving, that they seem a little too good to believe.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Richard Linklater goes Hollywood (1995) -- triumphantly and with an overall intelligence, sweetness, and romantic simplicity that reminds me of wartime weepies like The Clock.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Watching and listening to these two is a charming experience; their conversation has the ring of veracity, and rarely does the viewer's interest stray.

Empire Ian Nathan

The overall effect is too intelligent to be soppy and too damn good to be ignored.

Washington Post Hal Hinson

Though Linklater allows the movie to wander, he never allows the pace to slacken, and more often than not he finds some unexpected bit of found poetry or cultural kitsch to make the digressions worthwhile.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

The charm -- the midsummer enchantment -- never feels forced; it steals up and wins you. A true romance.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Before Sunrise is so much like real life - like a documentary with an invisible camera - that I found myself remembering real conversations I had experienced with more or less the same words.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are attractive stars, but what's most appealing about the picture is the value it puts on sharing ideas and feelings through language.

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

Delpy and Hawke begin to grow on you and Linklater and his actors achieve a point midway through the film when the characters are so attractive and smart and emotionally daring that you'll be happy to spend the night with them.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

What Mr. Linklater does best here is to come up with conversational gambits that have just the right fancifulness to suit this situation.

TV Guide Staff(Not credited)

The weight of the film rests on the shoulders of Hawke and Delpy, and they're both remarkable.

Los Angeles Times Peter Rainer

There's nothing much to the movie, except for the amiability of the actors and the layers of feeling Linklater provides, but that's just almost enough.

Variety Todd McCarthy

While pic remains sympathetic and appealing, the endless dialogue and repetitive settings become wearing through the couple's one long night together, and the artifice of the premise may contribute to the difficulty the film has in coming to romantic life.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

If his first two films were about emotional mutes, then Before Sunrise is the tale of two kids who won't shut the hell up.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Sunrise feels more like an absorbing experiment than a supple success.