Something Cult, Foreign-Language or Indie #81: Before Sunrise (1995).

On a train somewhere between Germany and Austria, American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Frenchwoman Celine (Julie Delpy) meet and instantly strike up a conversation. After that quickly sparks a connection between them, he persuades her to disembark the train with him and spend the night exploring Vienna together. Romance blossoms between them, but in just one day they must part, potentially forever. Thus, they learn as much about each other as possible while navigating a mutually unusual city, pouring personal truths and feelings into every second together. In the process, how they both ended up on the train is also covered and they also grow to understand just why they were bound to so immediately and profoundly click.

The first of a trilogy (followed by Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013)),1995's Before Sunrise wasn't Richard Linklater's first effort - that was 1991's Slacker - but it certainly was his directorial breakthrough, and 23 years later it has aged scarcely, if at all. Romances are very hit-and-miss for me, mainly because they're usually so formulaic and one-sided, but this one is just heartrending. With my description the plot may seem very boring, and it is fully dialogue-driven, but Linklater and co-writer Kim Krizan have crafted a story that will hold your interest throughout not just because you know all along it's a doomed (if that's the right word) relationship, but since Celine and Jesse are such realistic characters: cynical, abrasive, erudite but nonetheless idealistic and sensitive. They are also played with delicate brilliance, and the chemistry between Hawke and Delpy is simply unquestionable. (I should also state here that Celine reminds me of my ex-girlfriend, although she's Australian.) There's also a soundtrack which hypnotically combines Fred Frith's beautifully understated score and some well-chosen indie rock tracks of the era.

I actually found Before Sunset something of a buzzkill (I haven't seen Midnight for that reason), although it was praised as much as this. But regardless, Before Sunrise holds up perfectly and can still stand fully on its own as arguably the textbook on how to get a bittersweet, youthful romance exactly right in any medium. I also first saw it as a TV midday movie, so there's something to be said for that phenomenon. Cinema just doesn't come much more disarming or enchanting.