Before Sunset

Two warm, beautiful films in two days. (Well, 1 and a half films, but you get my point.) This is some kind of record for me.

I can't really express why this film is so great. The warmth of it just enveloped me, and I guess that's what film is all about for me.

I guess my entire review can be summed up like this. You know how sometimes, people just do and say things and you laugh at them, and sometimes you don't even know why, it's just that, well, life's funny that way? That's what this film is like. Jesse and Celine get together and talk again, and they just do and say things that make you laugh, and it's all just so romantic.

I guess it's the lack of any real romance that makes me love this film so much, and yet, I can say that if I did have a girlfriend, this would probably be one of the first movies I'd show her--along with the predecessor, "Before Sunrise."

The only two complaints I have about the film: One, there's a lot of dirty talk, which I don't mind, but it really gets in the way of fantasizing about watching it with a girlfriend (and I just realize how strange that makes me sound); and two, it's only 80 minutes long. It's true what Ebert says: No good movie is long enough. (And no bad movie is short enough, but that's not the point I'm trying to make.)

I'd recommend this film if you want to get in the mood for love. (Which reminds me, I should probably see "In the Mood for Love" sooner.) However, if you're impatient and/or don't like movies where people just talk, no matter how great their conversation is, you'll probably want to avoid this. You'd be missing out, though.