In 1995, I went to the movies alone (as I am wont to do often), and caught one of my all-time favorites, Before Sunrise. This movie was perfect, from beginning to end. And the thing I loved about it most was that the characters were fully realized. The guy wasn't some schlub, but three-dimensional. The girl wasn't a 'girl' at all, in the Hollywood sense, but a real human being with more to say and think than just 'i love you' or 'i can't believe you like me' or all the crap that hollywood usually gives women to say in a script. No, the woman in this movie was fully developed and had a mind, and so did the guy, and they both reveled in just talking to each other throughout their time, before sunrise. And I've seen this movie countless times and it also amazes me how perfect it is.

Cut to 2004 and they've done a beautiful, fully-realized 'sequel' called Before Sunset. I'm oh-so-happy they made this movie. It wasn't some sappy, stupid, needless sequel. But a real sequel in the sense that there was a story to be told about life afterwards, and they brilliantly decided to follow-up the story with the idea that it really is 9 years later in their lives too. The tag line to the movie is perfect too: "What if you had a second chance with the one that got away?" Watching this movie was like visiting two old friends who I've missed and catching up on their lives. It also perfectly captures the awkwardness, excitement, and general strangeness of running into someone important from your past that you think about all the time but never see.

If there's a reason for cinema, beyond popcorn hollywood big blockbusters, it's to create movies with real depth, like these two. If you haven't seen the first one, rent it, and then go out and watch this sequel. You don't have to see the first one to enjoy this sequel, but it would definitely make it stronger. Regardless, these movies are the reason that I still have hope for the cinema.