BEFORE SUNRISE
This thought-provoking romantic drama, about a young man and woman who meet and decide to spend a night together in Vienna, is “one of the most romantic movies of all time,” critic David Nusair writes in Reel Film Reviews.
“A film that first startles you with its simplicity, then bowls you over with its complexity,” Christopher Harris writes in The Globe and Mail.
Its charm “steals up and wins you,” writes Anthony Lane in The New Yorker.
Director Richard Linklater’s low-budget independent film — which later became the first installment in a “Before” trilogy — follows American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French graduate student Céline (Julie Delpy) as they meet on a Eurail train.
Their conversations forge a surprising connection, and Jesse convinces Celine, who is returning to Paris, to get off the train with him in Vienna.
Since his flight to the United States departs the next morning and he has no money for lodging, they wander the city together, taking in the experiences of Vienna and each other.
As the night progresses, their bond makes separating in the morning a difficult choice.
The 1995 film, shot before the pervasiveness of email and smartphones, is “a lovely and wistful celebration of youth, time and moments of connection — and about the experience of living in the midst of a simple, perfect day that you know you’ll remember for the rest of your life,” critic Mike LaSalle writes in the San Francisco Chronicle.
“[It] speaks as much to the mind as to the heart, and much of what it says is likely to strike a responsive chord — a rare and special accomplishment for any motion picture,” James Berardinelli writes in ReelViews.
The movie, co-written by Linklater and writer-actress Kim Krizan, runs 101 minutes and is rated R. Its trailer can be found at tinyurl.com/BeforeSunrise-MoviesWSpirit.
The screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion. Refreshments will be served.
Attendees over age 12 are asked to contribute $10 a person.
Movies With Spirit screenings comply with all federal, state and local health and safety protocols, including those of the screening venues.
The monthly Movies With Spirit series, organized by Gerry Harrington of Kingston, seeks to stimulate people’s sense of joy and wonder, inspire love and compassion, evoke a deepened understanding of people’s integral connection with others and with life itself, and support individual cultures, faith paths and beliefs while simultaneously transcending them.
The films are screened in diverse places of worship and reverence across Ulster and Dutchess counties at 7 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month. Movies With Spirit has no religious affiliation.
For more information about “Before Sunrise” and the rest of the Movies With Spirit series, contact Harrington at 845-389-9201 or at gerryharrington@mindspring.com. Details are also available at facebook.com/MoviesWithSpirit.
