The Before Trilogy (1995-2013)

[James Luckard]

SO excited for this set!!!

Sunrise is an unquestioned masterpiece.

Sunset, however, may be an even greater masterpiece, in my mind. It's one thing to produce a one-off masterpiece, it's completely another to re-engage with that film, when nobody is crying out for a sequel, and find a way to elevate the work done in the original and add a HUGE amount of tension and intensity to it. I am not lying when I say that Sunset had me more on the edge of my seat than any thriller I have ever seen. Until the very last line of dialogue, it's unclear whether these two achingly lonely souls will have the courage to admit their feelings and allow themselves to connect. Their desperate need to confess their love, at war with their crippling fear of rejection by the other, makes this a wrenching emotional ride. I have never felt higher stakes in a film than in the final scene of this one. Forget asteroids on a collision course with earth, forget crazed maniacs with nuclear weapons in a Bond film, two people in a room, listening to a CD, straining to find the words to admit they love each other, is the pinnacle of cinematic engagement for me, and puts Before Sunset among my top five films ever made.