On paper, the plot is slight: American traveller Jesse meets French student Celine on a train from Budapest and, sensing an emotional connection, encourages her to jump off the train with him in Vienna and hang out for an evening. Even this premise seems ludicrously fairy tale like; who in the modern age would wander around a city at night with a stranger, without telling anyone or sensing the inherent danger? It works, though, largely through superb direction from Richard Linklater and acting from the two leads.
Most of the film is dialogue; very little actually happens beyond the two characters revealing their back-stories and motivations to each other, and by proxy, us. Given a film culture where we’re usually given precious little – back-stories are often limited to a single sentence – it’s refreshing to see two characters given time to grow. Jesse initially comes across as another arrogant American, but is revealed to be surprisingly sensitive and intelligent as the night continues. Meanwhile Celine initially comes across as fragile and innocent but is revealed to be made of stronger – and darker – stuff.
I’m not ruining the film by revealing that Jesse and Celine eventually decide to meet again. This wallop of a feel-good ending gives strength to an almost magical relationship that you want to last forever; it, like the film, is perfect.
Most of the film is dialogue; very little actually happens beyond the two characters revealing their back-stories and motivations to each other, and by proxy, us. Given a film culture where we’re usually given precious little – back-stories are often limited to a single sentence – it’s refreshing to see two characters given time to grow. Jesse initially comes across as another arrogant American, but is revealed to be surprisingly sensitive and intelligent as the night continues. Meanwhile Celine initially comes across as fragile and innocent but is revealed to be made of stronger – and darker – stuff.
I’m not ruining the film by revealing that Jesse and Celine eventually decide to meet again. This wallop of a feel-good ending gives strength to an almost magical relationship that you want to last forever; it, like the film, is perfect.