On a train ride to Vienna, a French woman Celine moves to a different seat after a German couple starts loudly arguing. She starts to read her book, only to look up when Jesse, an American, starts to engage her in conversation. They have no idea what will transpire will change the course of both their lives.

Before Sunrise is a film by Richard Linklater that I’ve been considering watching for a bit, but I never thought how much it would apply to my life. People tend to think of romantic movies as silly little pictures you watch on a rainy night, but Before Sunrise is a film that deconstructs the genre before reconstructing it in a tangible way. Set over the course of a single night in Vienna, it follows Jesse and Celine as they continue their initial meeting on the train through the streets, ruminating on being in their twenties, love, marriage, the future, etc.

One way to look at Before Sunrise is that it’s a two-hour meet-cute, where instead of a montage of Celine and Jesse falling in love, Linklater takes us on the meet-cute with them, showing us the tiny moments of intimacy that make their relationship lightning in a bottle. Although they come from different backgrounds and outlooks on life, with their circumstances in Europe contributing to that, they seem to find in the other a kindred spirit. Celine characterizes herself as a bit of an old soul, not really sure what to make of her therapist and tired of going from one boyfriend to the next. Jesse’s unsure what to make of this new chapter in his life, where he has all the freedom he wants but none of the tools to take him to the next point.

Jesse and Celine are both philosophically moored in their twenties. They want to find a point of self-actualization, but they’re also hyperaware it’s impossible to reach a point of self-satisfaction with where you are in life. One pivotal moment that resonated with me was when Celine mentioned how her father always reframed her dreams in more practical terms when she was a little girl. It’s easy to dream of your life being loud and fulfilling when you’re a child, but Celine always knew her life wasn’t going to be that way. She kept preparing herself for her dreams to be disappointing in reality. With Jesse, she finds an outlet for her disappointment in a way that allows her to healthily process what she’s been going through.

Jesse is also an interesting character in and of himself. Jesse is the more cynical of the pair, whether it’s doubting a street poet’s genuineness or a palm reader’s scheme. However, his deep romanticism and infatuation with Celine contradicts his cynicism of “adulting” to where it’s clear he doesn’t want to be stuck in the rut forever. He talks about a memory he had where he saw a vision of his dead grandmother not long after she passed through a garden hose. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it, he wants something out of life too, and he finds it in Celine.

A common motif used to embody all of these themes is through transportation. It wouldn’t be a road movie if none of the characters had any money, so Jesse and Celine walk, take the metro, bus, and trolley to navigate Vienna. When they are sitting still, they aren’t just taking a breath, but they are taking a necessary break for oxygen in each other. When you’re in your twenties, it can feel like you’re going from one mode of transportation to another. Once your life is no longer structured by school, you feel adrift until you find something that takes you in one direction. It either ends one way: when you’re settled down with someone, or when the road ends and you have to find another path to embark upon. But Jesse and Celine are determined to find their own path.

Romantic films for me are a mixed bag because if they’re realistic, they’re often heartbreaking, but if they’re unrealistic, it’s often forgettable. But Before Sunrise gave me the best combination. It’s realistic because it’s uplifting and grounded, with a vague promise of a future together the protagonists aren’t even sure of themselves. Even though they only have one night together, Jesse and Celine’s chemistry makes it feel as though the night married them. By the time the sun rises, you never want the night to end.

FURTHER THOUGHTS

• My social battery would never survive this film.
• I don’t think there’s ever been a time where Ethan Hawke has managed to be both charming and down-to-earth without looking gorgeous as hell.
• There is a montage at the end, and it will break your heart and repair it all at once.