IMDb #212 Review: Before Sunrise (1995)

Source: Wikipedia

Two strangers futz around in nineties Vienna. Cue sunrise, roll credits. Because it's art, dammit.

Wait, where are you going? Just because it’s art doesn’t mean it’s bizarre and unapproachable!

Here: an American tourist and a French college student meet on a European train and chat. For hours. About whatever. In English, mostly, amid Austria’s linguistic cornucopia.

Then they take a break and walk around and do stuff, whatever they find. Yes, this refreshingly candid romance doubles as a documentary about improvising a piss-cheap Vienna day trip, which may or may not involve bamboozling bartenders into forking over free booze.

So they talk. They visit a cemetery for the nameless dead. They sip wine in the summer moonlight. They laugh. They talk some more.

This romance doesn’t exemplify “love at first sight” so much as transparency. Minutes after meeting, these two can exchange intimate childhood memories.

As their relationship barrels onward like a runaway train, they say, “This is going really fast.” To dispel awkwardness, they say, “This is awkward.” When the conversation sours, they say, “Let’s talk about something else,” and once again rehash how girls and boys are different. As morning approaches, they acknowledge the need to say goodbyes–so they practice.

Dialogue in movies often feels too polished. This one incorporates pauses, repetition, filler words, the works. Even though somebody probably calculated every inflection, the results sparkle with raw charm. Even the idle philosophical speculation is charming, devoid of pretentiousness.

Sure, knowing there's sequels detracts from the bittersweet tone. And replaces it with unfettered joy.

IMDb #240 Review: Roman Holiday (1953)

Source: Wikipedia

We plop back into mid-twentieth century Rome, when the people were inherently classier and the world appeared more black-and-white.

Bored with the demands of royalty, Princess Diana v.1 abandons her luxury accommodations to experience normal city life–the opposite fantasy of most girls her age. Instead, she collapses in the streets from exhaustion.

Fortunately, there’s an average Joe named–well, Joe–who takes her in, because he happens to be a respectable human being. Unfortunately, he's also an American, a journalist who recognizes the princess and an opportunity for the biggest story of his career. Which he doesn't tell her.

Hijinks ensue.

They frolic in the city, her for the fun and him for the scoop, at least at first. Then their relationship, rooted in the fertile dung of lies, blossoms into something…more.

It’s a busy day. As “Anya Smith,” the princess adopts Audrey Hepburn's iconic pixie cut, samples gelato, hijacks a moped, crashes a moped, falls into forbidden love. Average Joe strings her along, calls up his photographer buddy to sneak sweet pics, goes with “Anya” to a dance on a boat, starts a brawl at a dance on a boat, and faces a moral dilemma. Meanwhile, the royal entourage panics.

This movie oozes charm. It exemplifies a classic fish-out-of-water yarn with some very lovely fish.

But amid the hilarity lurks the nagging notion that it can’t last. She has royal responsibilities, he has a job. The holiday has to end.

Reality ensues.

The last scene contains the loudest silence, the most meaningful eye contact, that I’ve ever seen in any movie.

Recommended for cheapskate tourists, neglectful journalists, and secretly romantic cynics.

118 minutes.