Before Sunset

Caught a matinee to Richard Linklater's Before Sunset today, the sequal to Before Sunrise (1995). It captured some sentiments lingering from my travels. I found it to be one of the best films I've seen this year.

When you are in your early 20's, you may have met someone you really connected with, but was unable to spend much time with. At that age, you are so full of hope - and perhaps think there will be plenty others to come. In your 30's, you realize that's not the case and you look back on that fateful moment when you shared a brief span of with someone you simply can't forget.

The most powerful moments in the film were the scenes in the boat and in the cab, when Jesse and Celine begin confiding in the relative dissapointments and regrets of their romantic lives. Nine years of longing, regret and missed opportunities bottled and now breaking to the surface. Behind them, the light changes across Paris as the sun sets and you know the inevitable moment will come when they may have to say goodbye once again.