Before Sunrise

Richard Linklater's lovely Rohmer-esque romance, in which an American student (Ethan Hawke) convinces a Parisian student (Julie Delpy) to spend the next 14 hours in his company.

In Linklater's lovely Rohmer-esque romance, an American student (Ethan Hawke) meets a Parisian student (Julie Delpy) on a train just outside Vienna, and persuades her to spend the next 14 hours keeping him company until he boards his plane. The ultimate holiday-romance movie, this turns the shortage of time into a matter of dramatic urgency and poignant emotion, even as the witty script and supremely naturalistic performances ensure that we really root for this one-night stand to turn into something more substantial.

Linklater would later follow the film with two equally charming chapters from Jesse and Céline's relationship, Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).