Before Sunrise / Before Sunset Ethan Hawke 2009 DVD Top-quality

Indie filmmaker Richard Linklater directs this duo of films about two meetings between an American man (Ethan Hawke) and a Parisian woman, Celine (Julie Delpy), which take place nine years apart. In the first film, ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), Jesse (Hawke) is an American student Eurorailing his way around Europe. He strikes up a conversation on a train with a young Parisian woman (Julie Delpy), and on the spur of the moment invites her to spend the day with him in Vienna. As the day wears on, a casual acquaintance turns into something more profound. Linklater pays homage to French auteur Eric Rohmer as he lets his characters talk their way into, around and out of each others’ affections. In the sequel, ‘Before Sunset’ (2004), Jesse and Celine about to cross paths again – in Paris – where they will get the chance to catch up on all that has occurred in their lives since their first meeting. Jesse, now married with a young child, has become a successful novelist. He is on a whirlwind European tour when he stops off at a bookshop in Paris, and Celine, who now works for an environmental organisation, comes to the reading. In the eighty minutes before his plane leaves – portrayed in the film in real time – the two stroll around the streets of Paris and discuss their views, experiences, hopes and dreams.