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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Before Sunset
Warner Independent Pictures
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for language and sexual references
Starring
Ethan Hawke,
Julie Delpy,
Vernon Dobtcheff,
Louise Lemoine Torres,
Rodolphe Pauly,
Mariane Plasteig,
Diabolo, Albert Delpy,
and
Marie Pillet
The timeless romantic story of two questing hearts and minds whose powerful bond defies time and place. (Warner Independent Pictures)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Richard Linklater (also characters and story)
Julie Delpy
Ethan Hawke
Kim Krizan (characters and story)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Richard Linklater
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: November 9, 2004
Video: November 9, 2004
Theatrical: July 2, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
80 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
Nominated, Golden Berlin Bear, 2004 Berlin International Film Festival
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
This is one of the most wildly romantic movies in ages.
100
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Summer sequelitis is upon us, but the season is unlikely to bring anything more remarkable than Richard Linklater's sweet, smart, and deeply romantic Before Sunset.
100
Premiere
Glenn Kenny
Yep, this movie is basically a yakfest, but an incredibly fluid and involving one, and if you have any kind of affinity for either of the characters, you’re bound to find the picture a kind of miracle.
100
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
The new film, which unfolds in real time over the course of 80 minutes, is a deeper, darker, altogether more memorable experience. It doesn't extend the characters so much as fulfill them.
100
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
This is a romance with minimal physical contact and sex--and that's part of what makes it work so well as a love story.
100
LA Weekly
Scott Foundas
What ultimately makes Before Sunset so special (and maybe the most resonant, least self-conscious “great movie romance” of its era) is its deep-rooted honesty -- the way it takes the bitter with the sweet and somehow leaves us feeling elated.
100
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
All told, he's (Linklater) one of today's most versatile American filmmakers, and Before Sunset finds his light shining as brightly as ever.
100
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
It's great to see an American filmmaker - and a successful one at that - willing to simply train his cameras on the actors and let them, and their characters, come to life.
100
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
Romantic, real and as generous as it is vulnerable, the art of conversation has rarely been so acute, honest and revealing.
100
Los Angeles Times
Manohla Dargis
Because Linklater now wears his heart on his sleeve, he has made a film that in its joy, optimism and aesthetic achievement keeps faith with American cinema at its finest.
100
USA Today
Mike Clark
A movie this diminutive can be easily oversold, but we might see it on some year-end best lists. It eats at you, just like renewed love.
100
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
That rose in the desert, a sequel that improves in every way upon its beloved predecessor and a romance that slowly builds a fire from embers thought dead.
100
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
Magnificent but somewhat frustrating movie.
100
New York Post
Megan Lehmann
Chance encounters and fated love are the stuff of fairy tales, which is what makes the deliriously romantic sequel Before Sunset a small miracle.
100
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Although there isn't a single kiss in this love story, it's intensely erotic -- and more to the point, it's not afraid of eroticsm's juicier and more forthright twin, carnality.
100
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
One of the most perfect endings of any film that comes to mind.
100
Portland Oregonian
Karen Karbo
Hawke is not a brilliant actor, but here he rises to the occasion: Every inch of him registers the weight of this moment.
100
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
A vibrant emotional epic.
100
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Although it is technically a sequel, Before Sunset stands perfectly well on its own. In fact, the new movie plays better if you haven't seen the original for a while, so its details have grown appropriately fuzzy.
100
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
The result is a peculiar small gem, a true Linklater gem. The verity of the film, rather than any novelty or twist, keeps us fixed.
90
The New Yorker
David Denby
The movie is an O. Henry-like conceit--the slenderness of the initial premise is part of the charm--but the anecdote becomes almost momentous as it goes on.
90
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
In the spirit of the original, Linklater closes with one of the best endings of its kind since George Romero's "Martin."
89
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Although the characters and their backstories are carefully thought out, Delpy and Hawke deliver their dialogue as if spontaneous and unmeditated.
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
This is a sequel just as intriguing as the original.
88
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
The naturalistic dialogue is a masterful bit of writing, credited to Linklater and his "Sunrise" co-writer Kim Krizan, as well as to the two stars.
88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
The ex-lovers' new conversation is stimulating and banal, selfish and broad-minded, affectionate and recriminatory, insightful and obtuse - in short, the kind of dialogue two people might have while pouring out their hearts and poring over their pasts.
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
The film has the materials for a lifetime project; like the "7-Up" series, this is a conversation that could be returned to every 10 years or so, as Celine and Jesse grow older.
88
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.
80
Film Threat
Peter Hanson
The sequel is an uninterrupted 80-minute dialogue between two richly imagined and performed characters.
80
Variety
Eddie Cockrell
A savvy sequel that should speak to anyone who's let that one great love slip away.
80
Slate
David Edelstein
The bad news is that Before Sunset is not as delirious an experience as its predecessor. The good news is that it's wonderful anyway, and in ways that tell us something about our romance with "Before Sunrise."
80
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
The script of Before Sunset is both rambling and self-conscious, and at times it has the self-important sound of clever writing. But though it is sometimes maddening, the movie's prodigious verbiage is also enthralling.
80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Anything that inspires that many whoops, gasps and groans with only two actors and a few choice words has earned its place at the summertime box office trough.
75
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
There is something uniquely unforgettable in the way Linklater, Hawke and Delpy (equal collaborators on the script) find nuance, art and eroticism in words, spoken and unspoken. The actors shine.
60
TV Guide
Angel Cohn
This sweet film is a genuine treat, even if there's little plot, no antic mayhem and its 90-minute running time is mostly consumed by nonstop, sometimes pretentious dialogue.
60
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
Meandering but reasonably charming.
60
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
It's "My Dinner With Andre" for the relationship generation.
60
Empire
Liz Beardsworth
An intelligent, engagingly honest study of love lost and, just maybe, regained.
40
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
All foreplay and no climax.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 119 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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