In many ways,Richard Linklater’sBefore Sunriseis the most swoon-worthy story of love at first sight, and the greatest Valentine’s Day film. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) meet on a train in Europe: Céline is on her way back to Paris for school, but Jesse convinces her to get off in Vienna and spend the night with him anyway. After a romantic night walking the streets of the city, sharing the kind of honest words you can only share with someone you’ve just met, the two vow to meet again at the same spot in six months rather than exchange contact information.
But beyond the theme of star-crossed love is the deep, witty, intellectual banter between Jesse and Céline. Their undeniable connection can be felt in the way they communicate so fluidly about their lives. The truths they reveal to one another speak volumes about the nature of love and relationships. A film this unique and touching leaves a void in you when the credits roll. Luckily, there’s plenty of logical follow-ups (starting with the other two films in the trilogy, of course!).
A movie likeMarriage Storyis agood spiritual companion to the film, but definitely doesn’t capture the romantic, philosophical mood of Linklater’sBefore Sunrise.Despite their similarities toBefore Sunrise, Woody Allen films will be left out, for obvious reasons. Let’s take a look at some other movies that explore both the dark and light side of relationships in well-realized settings. If you likeBefore Sunrise,you will definitely find something to love in each of these films with palpable romance and unforgettable lines. Here are some realistic, philosophical, and comedic cousins toBefore Sunrisethat you’re sure to love.
Updated, September 2022: To keep the article fresh and relevant by adding more information and entries, this article has been updated by Rafa Boladeras.
The Rest of the “Before Trilogy” (Before Sunset / Before Midnight)
The obvious next place to go if you likedBefore Sunrise,is tofinish theBeforetrilogy, if you haven’t already.Before Sunsetpicks up nine years afterSunrise, when the couple is reunited by chance for an afternoon in Paris. Did the two meet six months later in Vienna, as promised? As we play catch-up on the lives of Jesse and Céline, learning the ways that they’ve grown and changed, we find ourselves forgetting about any questions and just enjoying the present moment of the narrative. We once again have the privilege of Linklater’s witty, thought-provoking dialogue and Hawke and Delpy’s electric chemistry to observe. Critics saidSunsetthoughtfully expanded on the first film, drawing on the time elapsed to create a moving statement about love and relationships. The ending, the most triumphant and romantic of the trilogy, is an absolute classic.
Before Midnighttakes place nine years after the sequel, as the couple, now well into middle-age, confront their discontent on a family vacation to Greece. While it’s the hardest to watch of theBeforemovies,it’s also the most realistic. We finally see the fantasy of Jesse and Céline’s relationship materialize, only for it to face the very issues that they feared nearly two decades ago. It contains the trilogy’s most brutal moments and also some of its most tender ones.Midnightprovides one of cinema’smost honest and complete portraits of romance.It was a perfect ending to the series.
Other Linklater Films
It may not be a story of romantic love, but Linklater’sBoyhoodalso has love at its core (and Hawke’s in this one, too). It’s a feat of modern filmmaking that spans 12 years, encompassing most of the childhood of actor Ellar Coltrane as he plays a boy named Mason, growing up in Texas from ages six to 18. As in theBeforetrilogy and many of Richard Linklater’s other films, plot isn’t really a driving factor, but the lack of it only makes the characters feel more real, and their relationships, which develop and crumble before our eyes, more believable. “I thought there would be more,” Mason’s mother (Patricia Arquette) cries, as her son gets ready to move away for school. We’re crying along with her.
Those who loved the philosophical musings on life at the heart ofBefore Sunrisewill loveWaking Life,an experimental animated film from Linklater. For the film’s unique look, Linklaterused a modern sort of rotoscoping, drawing over real footage with computer software to create the distinct feel of every frame being a painting. Hawke and Delpy actually reprise their roles as lovers Jesse and Céline in the film, albeit in more surreal animated forms, still waxing poetic on themes of love and reality.Waking Lifewas praised for its inventiveness and profound insights into life and love. While it’s more or less a string of witty, thought-provoking monologues, it’s hard to fault it for lacking plot when the banter is this good.
The Films of Luca Guadagnino
Luca Guadagnino’sCall Me By Your Nameperfectly encapsulatesBefore Sunrise’s youthful spark of longing. It follows Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a boy spending the summer with his family in Italy, as he falls for Oliver, a graduate student studying with his father. The progression of crush to impassioned obsession is depicted perfectly by a break-out Chalamet. Guadagnino’s film places you in the Italian countryside, even if you’ve never been, and fills you with ’80s nostalgia (even if you weren’t alive yet). The sounds and sights of the film are palpable– you can feel the heat, smell the fresh grass and cigarettes; it summons a longing just like Elio’s.
Guadagnino’s 2009 drama,I Am Love,follows Emma (an Italian-speaking Tilda Swinton) a Russian-born woman who has married into a wealthy Italian family. The film charts Emma’s whirlwind affair with her son’s friend, a chef who seduces her with a single dish. LikeBefore Sunrise,the film beautifully speaks to the potentially momentous, world-defining consequences of a single encounter.
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Wong Kar-Wai’s Classic Films
If you were drawn to the impossibility and fantasy of Jesse and Céline’s romance, thenWong Kar-Wai’s masterpieceIn the Mood For Love,is a wonderful follow-up.While Jesse and Céline were separated by geography, Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-Shen (Maggie Cheung) are both living in 1960s Hong Kong, but are just married to other people; their connection sparks when they find out that their spouses are having an affair with each other. Like theBeforetrilogy, In the Mood for Loveis structured around a series of poignant romantic encounters between two people. Yes, it’s less sweet and youthful thanSunrise, its romance doomed before it even begins, but it makes an even more powerful argument about love: the idea of it alone is enough to sustain us.
Wong’sHappy Togetheris a heartbreaking, powerful film that follows a gay couple from Hong Kong, Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung) and Lai Yiu-fai (the director’s favorite, Leung) as they visit Argentina. Rather than running on plot, it follows the natural logic of its characters' emotions, as their relationship ebbs and flows, but their love remains. As inBefore Sunrise,there’s the feeling that this couple is an island, walking the streets of a foreign world with no one but each other. Stranded in Buenos Aires and working for money to travel home, their relationship crumbles and Po-wing returns home. But there may be hope left on the horizon for Yiu-fai, who continues to look for love even after he’s been left behind.
For The Comedy Lovers
If you’re able to’t get enough ofJulie Delpy’s charm in theBeforetrilogy,2 Days in Parisis a great segue into her other work (she wrote, directed, and edited this one). Though it still has a French-American couple — Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg ) — at its heart, in many ways,2 Days in Parisis the complete inverse ofSunrise:a hilarious snapshot of a couple on the brink of implosion. However,it does have its intelligencein common with Linklater’s classic, speaking to the often arbitrary, fleeting nature of romantic connections. Her sequel,2 Days in New York, flips the script; this time placing Marion in New York, where she’s married to Mingus (Chris Rock). Rock and Delpy have great chemistry, and Rock’s comedic chops come in handy when Marion’s family arrives from France for the weekend. It’s definitely lighter than theBeforetrilogy, but still undeniably sweet. These days, that might be just what people need.
If you lovedBefore Sunrise, but wished it had a little moreSeinfeldto it, watch Nora Ephron’s classic:When Harry Met Sally.It follows a pair of friends, the titular Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), over the course of their twenties as they cross in and out of each other’s lives. It’s a hilarious, romantic,exploration of the nature of love and friendship. Harry and Sally remain stubborn in their own beliefs on these subjects - until they give in to their own feelings, that is. Like theBeforetrilogy, it’s a story of love over the years between two people with a strong intellectual connection; soulmates who also can’t quite get the timing right.Most importantly, it can make you laugh a lot; somethingBefore Sunsetmight be a bit too intellectual and serious to do at times. Nonetheless, finding a romantic comedy even remotely adequate to followBefore Sunriseis a difficult endeavor, and very few films are up to the task.
SinceBefore Sunrise,many movies have used the same premise to tell different stories. One of the best isNick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,where the titular characters fall in love after spending a whole night together. It’s a more rock and roll version, as both characters are in different places at the start: Nick (Michael Cera) is still depressed after his girlfriend Tris has broken up with him, and they meet when Nora (Kat Dennings) kisses him to avoid someone she knows. From there on, they spent hours together, talking, getting to know each other, making each other laugh, and searching for the concert of underground band Where’s Fluffy?. It’s more immature thanBefore Sunrise, as the characters are still in high school, but you’ll still fall in love with the titular couple, and their group of friends.
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Joe Swanberg’s Movies
The whole mumblecore movement is influenced by Richard Linklater’s movies, as talking about relationships and falling in love is an essential part of this subgenre; especially in the movies Joe Swanberg wrote and directed with Greta Gerwig or Jake Johnson. FromNights and WeekendstoHannah Takes the Stairs,orDrinking Buddies, Swanberg’s movies follow couples falling in and out of love, and lead characters who like to talk about it. Human relationships are what Swanberg finds more interesting in life, and love is a great component of that. All his movies show that first spark and the moment someone understands that this new person in their life could be someone special and unique.
Coffee and Cigarettes
Jim Jarmusch’s film is an anthology of vignettes around, well, coffee and cigarettes. The simple situation is the perfect excuse to have characters talk about their loves and fears, ideas and dreams, and also the things they hate the most. WhatCoffee and Cigarettesalsohas in common with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s movie is the belief that conversation is the best way to get to know someone; the mundane is what gives life meaning, and everyone deserves to be listened to, and have their own point of view. Sometimes the conversations can become ramble-filled and go nowhere, but other times, these discussions show how each of these actors (or at least the heightened versions of them in the film) feel, act, and believe.
