The trio of collaborators are being recognized for creating one of cinema's most compelling and unique romantic sagas. The genius of their approach to this extended love story lies in its unvarnished honesty. Nearly 20 years ago in the film "Before Sunrise," a romance ignited between two soul mates on a train to Vienna and defined a generation. In the decades that followed, that generation grew up and the complicated characters played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke have matured right along with them. In 2004's "Before Sunset" and last year's "Before Midnight," the conversation between the French Céline and American Jesse continued to unfold in real time - a sort of special cinematic effect which has long fascinated Richard Linklater.
