Before Sunrise (R, 1995)

common sense media says

Two strangers quickly fall in love. Not for kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this film's straight-forwardness is bound to make its ideas about sex, romance, and religion convincing to a late-teen audience in search of answers for life's toughest questions. Sex, however, is implied and is dealt with in a very serious, respectful manner.

Positive messages: Not applicable.
Violence: Not applicable.
Sex: Lots of frank discussion of sex and love.
Language: Some casual swearing.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some drinking.

More on Before Sunrise

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the possible downside to brief romances. Trusting a raffish stranger on a train may be romantic, but could it be dangerous? How does one balance the need to be romantic and free-spirited with responsibility? Is there a way to be careful about romantic relationships without being jaded or unromantic?

What's the story?

What's the story?
BEFORE SUNRISE tells the story most familiar to all films in a most unfamiliar way. While traveling through Europe, young American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets a French art student Celine (Julie Delpy). The two strike up a spirited conversation on a train and spontaneously decide to spend an evening together, walking the streets of Vienna. The film is comprised entirely of long takes of Jesse and Celine talking, interspersed with short, subtle glimpses of the poets, performers, and monks that inhabit the Viennese night. On trains, on a ferris wheel, walking through graveyards, they talk about their personal histories, love, sex, death, and God. They fall in love, knowing that this will be the only night they will spend together.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
More than most films, Before Sunrise depends upon the likeability of the two main characters. It's this commitment the film makes to these characters, and their budding relationship that makes the film so completely enthralling.

Flaws are included, the disagreements between the couple as essential to establishing the realism that sets the film apart as the intimate connections they make. They hide their vulnerability behind humor and try to talk their way out of the sadness of saying goodbye. Director Richard Linklater's style is appealingly unobtrusive. He lingers on scenes when another director would've cut away, allowing the dialogue and the actors to speak for themselves.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Dominik Castell, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Genre: Romance
Run time: 101 minutes
Theatrical release: January 1, 1995
DVD release: November 30, 1999
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: some strong language.

This review was written by Elliot Panek
 
 

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age