FILM · 2004 · USA
Before Sunset
- Directed by
- Richard Linklater
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Studio
- Warner Independent Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, Detour Filmproduction
124 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.
124 Interesting Facts About Before Sunset
Interesting Facts (30)
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In the film, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) confesses to Celine (Julie Delpy) that he wrote a book about their meeting nine years earlier, partly hoping she would read it and get back in touch with him. Like Before Sunrise (1995), it is based on events from director Richard Linklater's own life. He once spent a night walking and talking in Philadelphia with a woman named Amy in 1989. They initially stayed in touch by phone but eventually lost contact. In 1994 Linklater made Before Sunrise (1995), based on the night he spent with Amy. Like Jesse in Before Sunset, Linklater secretly hoped Amy would hear about the film and attend the premiere, but she did not come. When Before Sunset was released, she still did not appear. In 2010, before Linklater began production on his second sequel, Before Midnight (2013), a friend of his who knew Amy's story contacted him and told him that Amy had died in a motorcycle accident on 9 May 1994, at the age of 24, a few weeks before he began shooting Before Sunrise (1995).
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The study Jesse describes, about how people return to their old selves after six months, was real. It was conducted jointly by Northwestern University and the University of Massachusetts in 1978. It produced the results Jesse mentions: six months after winning the lottery or losing their legs, people's happiness levels returned to baseline.
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Production Story (43)
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In the movie, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) confesses to Celine (Julie Delpy) that he wrote a book about their meeting 9 years before, partially in the hope that she would read it and re-establish contact with him. Like Before Sunrise (1995), this is based on events in director Richard Linklater's own life. He had once spent a night walking and talking around Philadelphia with a woman called Amy in 1989. Though they initially stayed in touch over the telephone, they lost contact eventually. In 1994, Linklater shot Before Sunrise (1995), based on his night with Amy. Like Jesse in "Before Sunset", Linklater was secretly hoping that Amy had heard of the movie, and would show up at the premiere, but she did not. When "Before Sunset" was released, she did not show up either. It wasn't until 2010, before Linklater started production on the second sequel, Before Midnight (2013), that a friend of Amy, who knew about their story, contacted Linklater to tell him that Amy had died in a motorcycle accident on May 9, 1994, at the age of 24, a few weeks before he started shooting Before Sunrise (1995).
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After the filming of Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy discussed making a sequel. Linklater considered a version to be filmed in four locations and with a much larger budget. When his proposal did not secure funding, he scaled back the concept of the movie. In a 2010 interview, Hawke said that the three had worked on several potential scripts over the years. As time passed and they did not secure funding, they adapted elements of the earlier scripts for Before Sunrise in their final draft of Before Sunset.
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The film is notable for taking place essentially in real time, meaning the time that passes in the story is the film's running time. In the rapidly changing temperate Paris climate, this created difficulties for cinematographer Lee Daniel in matching the color and density of the sky and the ambient light from scene to scene. Because they were still developing the script, scenes were mostly shot in order.
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After shooting Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy discussed making a sequel. Linklater considered a version to be shot in four locations and with a much larger budget. When the offer failed to secure funding, he scaled down the film's concept. In a 2010 interview, Hawke said the three of them worked on many potential scripts over the years. As time passed and they could not secure financing, they adapted some elements from earlier Before Sunrise scripts into the final draft of Before Sunset.
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In the film, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) confesses to Celine (Julie Delpy) that he wrote a book about their meeting nine years earlier and did so partly in the hope that she would read it and get back in touch with him. Like Before Sunrise (1995), this film is based on events in director Richard Linklater's own life. In 1989, Linklater had walked and talked through the night in Philadelphia with a woman named Amy. Although they initially stayed in touch by phone, they eventually lost contact. In 1994, Linklater shot Before Sunrise based on the night he spent with Amy. Like Jesse in the film, Linklater secretly hoped Amy would hear about the film and come to the premiere, but she did not. She did not come when Before Sunset was released either. That was until 2010, before Linklater began work on the second sequel, Before Midnight (2013), when a friend of Amy's who knew the story contacted Linklater and told him that Amy had died on May 9, 1994, at the age of 24, in a motorcycle accident. This was a few weeks before Linklater began shooting Before Sunrise.
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After the shooting of Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy discussed making a sequel. Linklater considered a version to be shot in four different locations and with a much larger budget. When the proposal failed to find financing, he scaled down the film's concept. In a 2010 interview, Hawke said the three of them worked on several potential scripts over the years. As time passed and they could not secure financing, they adapted elements from the earlier scripts to Before Sunrise in the final draft of Before Sunset.
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The film is notable for unfolding in almost real time; the time elapsed in the story equals the film's running time. The rapidly changing Paris climate made it difficult for cinematographer Lee Daniel to match the color and density of the sky and the ambient light between scenes. Scenes were mostly shot in order because the script was still being developed.
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In the film, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) confesses to Celine (Julie Delpy) that he wrote a book about their meeting nine years earlier and did so partly in the hope that she would read it and get back in touch with him. Like Before Sunrise (1995), this film is based on events in director Richard Linklater's own life. In 1989, Linklater spent a night walking and talking with a woman named Amy in Philadelphia. Though they initially stayed in touch by phone, they eventually lost contact. In 1994, Linklater made Before Sunrise based on the night he spent with Amy. Like Jesse in the film, Linklater secretly hoped Amy would hear about the film and come to the premiere, but she did not. She did not come when Before Sunset was released either. That was until 2010, before Linklater began production on the second sequel, Before Midnight (2013), when a friend of Amy's who knew the story contacted Linklater and told him that Amy had died in a motorcycle accident on 9 May 1994, at the age of 24. This was a few weeks before Linklater began shooting Before Sunrise.
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After filming Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy discussed making a sequel. Linklater envisioned a version to be shot in four different locations and with a much larger budget. When the proposal failed to find financing, he scaled down the film's concept. In a 2010 interview, Hawke said the three of them had worked on several potential scripts over the years. As time passed and financing could not be secured, they adapted elements from the earlier scripts to Before Sunrise in the final draft of Before Sunset.
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Behind the Scenes (16)
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The film is notable for essentially taking place in real time, i.e. the time elapsed in the story is the run time of the film. In the fast-changing temperate Paris climate, this created challenges for the cinematographer Lee Daniel to match the colour and intensity of the skies and ambient light from scene to scene. The scenes were mostly shot in sequence, as they were still developing the screenplay.
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The film stands out for unfolding almost in real time; the time elapsed in the story equals the film's running time. The rapidly changing Paris climate made it difficult for cinematographer Lee Daniel to match the color and density of the sky and the ambient light between scenes. The scenes were mostly shot in order because the script was still being developed.
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Characters & Cast (8)
Easter Eggs & References (10)
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The study Jesse mentioned about how people return to their old selves after 6 months was a real one. It was conducted in 1978 jointly by Northwestern University and the University of Massachusetts. They got the results Jesse mentioned where people's happiness levels returned to base levels 6 months after winning the lottery or losing their legs.
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Deeper Meaning (11)
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The study Jesse mentions, in which people return to their old selves after 6 months, is real. It was conducted jointly by Northwestern University and the University of Massachusetts in 1978. It concluded that the happiness levels of people who won the lottery or lost their legs returned to a baseline level after 6 months.
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Career & Awards (4)
Life & Family (2)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work