Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunset”, the second chapter of his Before Trilogy which happened to be re-released in South Korean theaters not long after “Before Sunrise” was re-released there, made me a little nostalgic during my viewing. When the movie came out, I was just a wild and young moviegoer who had become a little more serious about watching and writing about movies, and I even had to check up “Before Sunrise” before watching it. When I watched it again at last night along with several other audiences, I observed its two main characters as a more knowledgeable 41-year-old movie reviewer who has had a fair share of hope and disappointment in his own life just like they did after “Before Sunrise”, and I was amused and touched more by how their playful interactions in the film resonate more with both of what happened before and what will follow next.

The movie begins with one of its two main characters going through the last part of his book tour in Paris during one sunny afternoon. After several years have passed since what happened between him and Céline (Julie Delpy) in “Before Sunrise” (1985), Jesse (Ethan Hawke) becomes a successful writer, and he recently published a book which is clearly based on his romantic experience with her during that time in Vienna. At a meeting being held at a certain famous old bookstore, he is asked about how much his novel is actually close to his real-life romance, but he only responds with vague answers, even while his mind cannot help but go back to that lovely time with Céline.

And then, what do you know, Jesse is quite surprised to notice Céline being in the bookstore, and he is certainly delighted to see her again. Although he will soon have to go to the airport for returning to New York City, he decides to spend some time with her before eventually leaving for the airport, and Céline gladly goes along with that.

As they walk and talk together, we get to know more about what happened after the end of “Before Sunrise”. For several accidental reasons, they never got any chance to meet again during last 9 years, and we come to learn that Jessie’s novel is more than a merely wistful reflection on that romantic time between them. He still misses her from time to time even after getting married several years ago, and she has always remembered him even though she has tried a number of other romantic relationships.

However, they also notice how much they are respectively changed from how they were during that time. While we can still see a smart and perceptive kid inside Jessie, he becomes more seasoned with more life experience and wisdom as trying to be a good adult and family man. Although we can see that slightly neurotic but utterly charming young girl inside Céline, she has also become more seasoned in her own way even while still hopeful and optimistic about whatever may happen next to her and the world surrounding them.

Nevertheless, as they talk more and more with each other, Céline and Jessie cannot help but sense how their old romantic feelings are being kindled again, especially as their conversation is led to them showing more of their respective personal thoughts and feelings. Both of them are not so satisfied with each own private life, and they surely have tried to deal with that as much as they can, but they wonder more about how things could become different for them during all those years which have passed around them.

Mainly because of the supposedly limited time between them, the movie gradually becomes more romantically suspenseful as the time for Jessie going back to New York City is approaching minute by minute, but the movie does not hurry itself at all as casually strolling around here and there along with its two main characters, and Linklater and his crew members did a commendable job of filling the screen with enough realism and verisimilitude. While being shot during only 15 days around several different locations in Paris, the movie effortlessly moves on from one extended scene to another, and we naturally become more immersed in whatever is being exchanged between Jessie and Céline.

Furthermore, the movie is constantly supported well by the flawless chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who were deservedly Oscar-nominated for their considerable contribution to the screenplay developed from the story written by Linklater and his co-writer Kim Krizan. You may sometimes wonder how much they actually put their own personal elements into the development of their respective characters, but Hawke and Delpy are always authentically engaging as deftly pulling and pushing each other throughout the film, and we eventually find ourselves arriving at the inevitable end of their little Parisian stroll after getting more amused and touched along the story. Yes, mainly due to “Before Midnight”, the last scene of “Before Sunset” is certainly far less ambiguous now, but you will probably find yourself smiling a bit around the very last shot of the film.

On the whole, “Before Sunset” still works as a very witty and charming romantic comedy film just like “Before Sunrise”, which also does not get aged much even though nearly 30 years passed since it came out. These two films and “Before Midnight”, which will be naturally re-released in South Korea a few weeks later, are one of the definite highlights in Linklater’s long and illustrious filmmaking careers filled with a number of interesting works ranging from “Dazed and Confused” (1993) to “Hit Man” (2023), and I will not mind at all if Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy would explore more of what they can do with their very likable characters.