Before Sunrise (1995)

A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Andrea Eckert

Top Rated Movies #187 | 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Hawke	...	Jesse
Julie Delpy	...	Céline
Andrea Eckert	...	Wife on Train
Hanno Pöschl	...	Husband on Train
Karl Bruckschwaiger	...	Guy on Bridge
Tex Rubinowitz	...	Guy on Bridge
Erni Mangold	...	Palm Reader
Dominik Castell	...	Street Poet
Haymon Maria Buttinger	...	Bartender
Harald Waiglein	...	Guitarist in Club
Bilge Jeschim	...	Belly Dancer
Kurti	...	Percussionist
Hans Weingartner	...	Cafe Patron
Liese Lyon	...	Cafe Patron
Peter Ily Huemer	...	Cafe Patron

Storyline

American tourist Jesse and French student Celine meet by chance on the train from Budapest to Vienna. Sensing that they are developing a connection, Jesse asks Celine to spend the day with him in Vienna, and she agrees. So they pass the time before his scheduled flight the next morning together. How do two perfect strangers connect so intimately over the course of a single day? What is that special thing that bonds two people so strongly? As their bond turns to love, what will happen to them the next morning when Jesse flies away?

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Plot Keywords:

conversations | train | tourist | kiss | french | 

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Taglines:

Jump on and live a Eurorail journey you will never forget!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Linklater left out subtitles but in the opening sequence, the couple on the train is actually arguing in German. The man is reading in his newspaper how 70,000 women are addicted to alcohol. The script translated the squabble as follows: "You're one of them," he says to his wife. She volleys back, saying he's the alcoholic. "I have a reason to do it. I'm married to you!" he retorts.

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Goofs

Jesse and Celine walk towards the back of the train heading for the dining car. As they enter the dining car, the train is now traveling in the opposite direction, backwards.

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Quotes

Celine: This is the one I remember the most. She was only 13 when she died. That meant something to me, you know? I was that age when I first saw this. Hm. Now I'm ten years older and she's still 13, I guess. That's funny.

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Connections

Featured in The Space in Between (2017)

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Soundtracks

Vienna Blood
Composed by Johann Strauss (as Johann Strauss)
Performed by Barbara Klebel and Wolfgang Staribacher

User Reviews

Casablanca for the 1990's - pure cinematic gold

Before Sunrise is romance for the slacker generation. Richard Linklater's romantic drama is an offbeat telling of a dream come true for most people. The film depicts romance in all it's glory, but without any of the pitfalls that befall most couples; and in short the film is about two people that have a relationship that's as close to perfection as relationships will ever come to - with just one problem, the problem of time. While most relationships wind down with time, this one keeps going strong throughout and time itself is the only thing that wears out. Before Sunrise is certainly not the typical sentimental 'Hollywood romance', which is another aspect that puts this film leagues ahead of the pretenders. The story follows two people, Jesse; an American and Celine; a French girl that meet on a train into Vienna. They instantly connect, and after telling her his awful idea for a television show and almost getting off the train, Jesse asks Celine to join him for the day in the picturesque city of Vienna...

Before Sunrise works principally for two reasons - realistic acting and an immense script that builds the characters through their thoughts and feelings and thus allows us to get to know them as we do the people in real life. This allows the characters to be free, and it's easy to believe that these are real people and not just actors working from a script. This also allows us to feel for the characters for who they are, and not merely because they're the protagonists. This kind of realism is hard to capture as, at the end of the day, we as the audience know that they're watching a film and not observing real life; but Before Sunrise represents one of the truest to life exhibitions of realism ever to be seen on screen. A truly great script cannot work on it's own, and needs great actors to deliver it to an extent that does it justice, and although I'm not a fan of either Julie Deply or Ethan Hawke; on viewing this film, there is nothing you can do but give them both respect. I don't know whether they were in character or just playing themselves, but when a film is this good; it hardly matters.

In a film like this, it is the writing that's the most important thing, and contained within the script are several observations about life, most of which I personally could relate to. This represents what Richard Linklater has achieved with this script as not only does it create and build the characters, but it also manages to expose what true love is, along with several other aspects of life. The fact that not all the anecdotes are relatable to me personally again represents the brilliance of writing. Everyone is different, and so different parts of the script will appeal to different people. There could be certain aspects about one person that one person loves and another hates; and that's the case with the musings in this script. Adding to the beauty of the film is the city of Vienna. The city itself isn't really important to the film as this is a story that could have taken place just about anywhere - but it makes for some lovely visuals and the upbeat, energetic romance that blossoms throughout the movie is matched by the beauty of the location.

Before Sunrise is simultaneously beautiful and captivating. Richard Linklater has created something that is rare in the world of cinema; a film that captures the beauty of life without ever going over the top or being overly sentimental. Before Sunrise is what it is. And what it is, is pure cinematic brilliance.

Details

Country:

USA Austria Switzerland

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

27 January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Before Sunrise

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,423,537, 29 January 1995

Gross USA:

$5,535,405

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,987,386

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Detour Filmproduction, Filmhaus Wien Universa Filmproduktions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1