Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
Nine years after Vienna, writer Jesse and environmentalist Céline reunite in Paris with only the time before his flight.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Jesse Wallace ends a Paris bookstore event for his novel and finds Céline waiting. Nine years after their night in Vienna, they walk through streets, a café, garden, boat, and her apartment, comparing what happened afterward and what their lives became.
Why it belongs
Richard Linklater lets real-time conversation carry nine unseen years, while Hawke and Delpy layer wit with regret, testing, and rekindled possibility.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Hawke and Delpy reveal lives through tiny corrections and evasions. Long walking takes, passing traffic, Seine movement, changing conversational distance, Céline's songs, and the approaching flight deadline let performance hold chronology.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250234AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness7.8
Engagement8.1
Ease8.0
English · R Narrative Feature Mood: Romantic & Reflective
