The Before Trilogy

Even in Austin, Richard Linklater’s home turf, and even at the Austin Film Society, which Linklater himself founded in 1985, opportunities to see his defining Before trilogy in 35mm are few and far between. Each film follows roughly the template started in 1995’s Before Sunrise, when American student Jesse (Ethan Hawke) convinces a French woman named Celine (Julie Delpy) to debark for a night spent wandering Vienna before he flies home in the morning, only 2004’s Before Sunset moves the walk & talk to Paris, 2013’s Before Midnight to Greece. Cycling through serendipity, second chances, and the bracing reality of a day-in, day-out partnership, the Before trilogy is a whole meal. Don’t miss the chance to feast on it on the big screen. – Kimberley Jones