Before Sunrise (1995)

Okay, this movie, like its sequel, is supposed to be very little known. But every person, whose taste in films I care about always knew about it! After so many recommendations, I finally sat down to watch it. And it wasn’t a let down. American Jesse and French Celine meet in a train going to Paris via Vienna and they hit it off. They exchange their thoughts and ideas and decide to continue their conversation when they reach Vienna where Jesse is to catch his flight the next day. They both get down and I loved the argument that Jesse used to convince her to get down at Vienna. Quoting from the film,

The Frenchie went Touche.

They walked around the city, went to places Celine had visited as a child and to places new to both. They talked, they’ve their first kiss and they do a lot more. They mutually decide to not take eachother’s numbers or addresses. People send a few letters and call a few times and promise to forever keep in touch and then gradually forget eachother. They didn’t want that, they agree, even though they feel otherwise inside. The movie ends with Celine leaving in a train to Paris and they both promise to meet eachother after exactly 6 months in the railway station. Whether they do meet eachother is left to the viewer to decide.

Unstoppable (2010)

This movie’s neither exceptionally good nor bad. It is entertaining, entertaining as in in-your-face-adrenaline-rush kind of entertaining. It’s supposedly based on a real life incident and is not one of your mindless action flicks. Also, the train-not-stopping-and-the-heroes-trying-to-stop-it thing has been done too many times before. Apna The Burning Train hain na! But it’s definitely watchable, but you can live without having seen it too. Its that kind of a film. What I loved is the cinematography. A metallic train rushing through lush green Pennsylvania countryside. Amazing. Also, the Prince from the second Princess Diary film(yes, I’ve seen it and no, I’m not embarrassed :P), Chris Pine,  is here too, along side Denzel Washington. That’s like only the third movie of his that I’ve seen.

Before Sunset (2004)

It’s the sequel to Before Sunrise. And I liked this one more. The conversation was more real, the setting being Paris helped too, as did the open ending too, much like its predecessor. Writing about this one is very difficult without giving away a lot about the last one. Jesse is now a published writer, married with a kid, who wrote a book based on that one night(plus day) 9 years back. Celine, now in a relationship with a photojournalist, tracks him down to the legendary bookstore Shakespeare and Company, where he is giving the last of his interviews in the Europe promotional tour for his book. And then they start their talkathon again, which is very, very real and so very harmlessly sarcastic. And that’s the main thing. The last time their conversation, especially on Jesse’s part, was too idealistic. But they kind of explain themselves here with the admission that they were “young and foolish”. If for no other reasons, I’d suggest Before Sunrise only to fully understand this one. Again, the ending is very open, as the film ends abruptly as Celine imitates Simone telling him that “Oh baby, you’re gonna miss your flight.”

Also, she sings a waltz for him and Julie Delpy, the actress, sings pretty decently!

She was the better of  the two too!