Goodbye First Love

Review and Trailer Comments

• FilmBuff76

  The suitably named Mia Hansen-Love follows up the fact-based Father Of My Children with the bittersweet love story Goodbye First Love. It's a more accurate title than the original French one, A Childhood Sweetheart. It's all about the pangs of first love, in this case teenage Camille who falls hard for the slightly older Sullivan. He leaves her to go off on his own adventures, breaking her heart in the process. As the years pass, they drift apart until one day he returns and their love is re-ignited, even though she's already involved with a kind if somewhat older man. It's a simple story effectively told through its naturalistic performances and lush seasonal cinematography in picture-pretty Paris and the scenic Loire Valley. It feels like a nostalgic love letter to anyone who has ever had their heart broken by a first love. One problem with the film though is that the passive Camille seems to invite heartbreak. Even when she's older, she doesn't learn from past mistakes. The lack of a proper face-to-face resolution also leaves the story hanging in the air. Overall though, this is a decent little character piece that's worth a look.

  Posted 17:22 | Sat 5th May 2012

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