10 Movie Trilogies That Are Absolutely Perfect

Richard Linklater's Before trilogy works so well because it's so simple. In 1995's Before Sunrise, two people (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) meet on a train in Vienna and spend the day talking, debating and falling in love.

Nine years later, they cross paths once more, and spend another day together, contemplating their futures. The final instalment finds them as a married couple, the cinematic love having faded and grappling with their new lives.

Between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's easy chemistry, Linklater's thoughtful musings on life, love and everything, and the sheer beauty of the protagonist's fateful relationship, the Before trilogy paints a vivid portrait of how people talk, grow and - sometimes - randomly meet and change each other's lives forever.

If that makes it sound overly sappy, rest assured that Linklater's vision, whilst undeniably gooey and romantic, is also chock-full of breezy humour, realistic dialogue, awkward blunders and relatability.

It's not as extravagant as other trilogies on this list, but it's without question one of the very best.