We are now less than a week away from the midway point of 2013, and so far, the cinematic year has been, as the kids would say, weak sauce.

The big blockbusters have been amusing enough, but nothing has gone the extra mile or transcended just mindless entertainment. Normally something does – "The Avengers" last year, "Super 8" the year before – but this year, it’s all mostly passable. If I had to make a top ten list today, there would be a lot of spots filled with half-hearted entries, each with their fair share of asterisks.

"Before Midnight" is the only feature that comes with no asterisks. I have no hesitation when I say that six months into 2013, this small, intimate romance is the best film I’ve seen so far this year. It is sweet but sharp, romantic but not cloying, tightly packed but also relaxed and loosely told. Simply put, it is a joy to watch.

The film serves as the third chapter in secretly one of the most critically acclaimed trilogies in recent history. Back in 1995, director Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy teamed up for "Before Sunrise," a two ships passing in the night romance that turned into a surprising indie hit and also holds a rare 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes (only 40 reviews but still). Nine years later, the trio came back together for the equally well-received "Before Sunset" (only a 95 percent this time on RT … slackers). Cue another nine years; cue another movie.

It’s been an unconventional journey to say the least, as quiet, plot-free, character and conversation-driven films don’t often get the trilogy treatment. Since its existence pretty much spits in the face of typical Hollywood conventions, it should come as no surprise that "Before Midnight" avoids falling prey to the conventional third film curse that haunts most big blockbuster trilogies (previous victims include "The Godfather Part III," "The Matrix Revolutions," "Spider-Man 3" and the list goes on).

Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) are now together, vacationing in Greece with their twin girls and some literary friends. They’re happy, but little cracks are forming. Jesse wants to be closer to his teenage son, who lives with his ex-wife in America, while Celine is nervously contemplating a career change into government work. Together, they walk and talk. And walk and talk. Then sit down and talk. And, on one special occasion, they talk during a lengthy car ride that would make Abbas Kiarostami proud.

Those looking for dense stories are barking up the wrong trilogy. Like its predecessors, "Before Midnight" is all about the conversations. And when they are this fascinating – coming from a script, written by Linklater, Delpy and Hawke, that’s one of the best since "The Social Network" – there is nothing wrong with that.

Everything is on the table for discussion: love; their lives as well as life in general; growing up; our short, fleeting existences; and how people view and experience life differently. Sometimes it’s just Jesse and Celine talking, making their way through the gorgeous scenery. During a really mesmerizing dinner sequence, however, it’s a large scale discussion with people from all sorts of generations and experiences chiming in.

Despite the heavy and often philosophical bent of the dialogue, the script artfully dodges sounding like speaking points or a band of screenwriters attempting to show off their intellect. The characters sound smart and witty but real, having remarkably thoughtful conversation while still making time to inject personality, humanity and development into the words.

Hawke and Delpy seem to have become one with their characters, the unique benefit of being able to evolve with a series naturally over many years. Jesse and Celine feel more like actor surrogates at this point. As a result, each word and emotion seems natural, pulled from genuine emotion and experience rather than simply a page.

It helps that the script doesn’t drag the duo through any fake dramas or forced plotlines, making them behave like characters rather than people. After all, real people don’t have storylines, just series of events and moments that we pass through and evolve from.

Linklater is a naturally low-key director. Even his hits ("The School of Rock," "Dazed and Confused") are fairly modest efforts. Still, he gets the most out of the gorgeous Greek scenery without caving in to cliché postcard shots of the usual landmarks. Most importantly, he has a nuanced eye for the details, like a lingering shot through Jesse’s perspective of a bikini-clad woman and a nervous handhold near the end of a dinner conversation about fleeting love. These little moments help develop lived-in characters and drama.

And there certainly is drama this time around. Their diverging paths and goals must finally be addressed, and the tension bubbling at the surface of Jesse and Celine’s relationship eventually boils over (cleverly staged by Linklater in a cold hotel room rather than the usual warm countryside). Her mood swings are borderline neurotic, while he’s not as mature as he thinks. Their sharply written words cut instead of charm, and the results are like watching your parents fight.

They bicker. They dredge up old secrets and suppressed angers. They pull out of the tailspin just in time to fall back into it again. It’s emotionally ravaging, mainly because it plays so authentically, and the audience has gotten so comfortable with these people. Even if "Before Midnight" is your first foray into the series, you get to know the characters through their conversations, thoughts and beliefs. You know, just like real people.

And like real people, they realize their mistakes and recover over some honest words and small but hard-earned revelations. It’s just as sweet, romantic and honestly felt as the rest of the film. Do they figure everything out nice and neatly? No. Life doesn’t settle that easy.  We live imperfect lives with imperfect people, and love is a sensation as warm as it is often fleeting, just like a sunset Jesse and Celine watch. Coping with these facts and finding the happiness in them isn't a storybook, Nicholas Sparks-esque romance; it's real romance. 

"Before Midnight" doesn’t have that problem. It’s pretty much perfect, and I fell in love with the film without it seemingly trying very hard at all.