Before Sunset is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from a story by Linklater and Kim Krizan. The sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) and the second installment in the Before trilogy, Before Sunset follows Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy) as they reunite nine years later in Paris.
Linklater, Krizan, Hawke, and Delpy began developing a larger budget sequel after the release of Before Sunrise, but failed to secure funding. After a period of independent work, notably inspired by Hawke's divorce from Uma Thurman, the writers came together in 2003 and incorporated elements of their screenplays, as well as scenes written during development of Before Sunrise, to create the film's screenplay. Principal photography took place entirely in Paris, and the film is considered to take place in real time. Delpy also contributed original music to the film's soundtrack.
Before Sunset premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 10, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 2, 2004. It grossed $15 million against a $2.7 million production budget and received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Linklater's direction, the performances and chemistry of its leads, and its screenplay. It received numerous accolades, being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and appeared on many publications' lists of the best films of the year, some even calling it one of the best of the decade. It was followed by a third film, Before Midnight, in 2013.
Nine years after meeting Céline in Vienna, Jesse has written a bestselling novel, This Time, based on their time together. During a book tour in Europe, he does a reading at Shakespeare and Company, where three journalists interview him: one is convinced the novel's characters meet again, another that they do not, and a third who wants them to but is doubtful that will occur. Céline also attends the reading.
Required to leave for the airport in an hour, Jesse and Céline use the time to roam Paris. Their conversations soon become deeply personal, and they passionately discuss work, politics and lament their failure to meet again in Vienna or exchange contact details. Céline informs she did not return as her grandmother died, and Jesse claims that he did not return either; after Céline asks him why he did not, he confesses that he did return.
They reveal how their lives have changed in the nine years apart: Jesse is married and has a son named Hank, while Céline has become an environmental activist and is in a relationship with a photojournalist. They each express dissatisfaction with their lives as they walk around Paris, and their old romantic feelings are slowly rekindled. Jesse says his novel was inspired by the hope of seeing Céline again, and she says that reading it caused painful memories.
Céline and Jesse arrive at her apartment, even after continuous insistence that Jesse should not miss his flight. Jesse persuades her to play a waltz on her guitar, which she wrote about their encounter in Vienna. Jesse plays Nina Simone's "Just in Time" on her stereo, which Céline dances to as he watches, the pair acknowledging he will miss his flight.