When we’re young, we all believe that the end of our first love will destroy us irrevocably - but as time moves on, so do we. We grow, we learn, we love again, but we never forget our first love. In the case of Camille, the first instinct is true, at least in the case of the new French film ‘Goodbye, First Love’.
Camille (Lola Creton) and Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky) are young lovers completely infatuated with one another, but when lost and directionless Sullivan drops out of university and decides to go backpacking through South America with friends, it's much to the despair of 15-year-old Camille. The film then chronicles Camille’s life as she sinks into a deep depression waiting for her love to return. That doesn’t happen and times moves on, and so does Camille, eventually going on to study architecture at uni and beginning a much healthier relationship with her professor - but as always, one never forgets their first love.
GOODBYE FIRST LOVE - TRAILER
Adolescence and first loves are powerful emotional time in a person's life, but as this reviewer finds with most French films, that emotion unfortunately stays on the page rather than transitioning to the screen and in the performances. This story is so rich, yet the film moves through things too slowly and lingers on the inconsequential. At 110 minutes, this movie is far too long, even for a story that spans over a decade.
This story is so rich, yet the film moves through things too slowly and lingers on the inconsequential.
To watch an almost two hour act of depression is not an easy pill to swallow, especially when presented by such unlikable characters and performed by its two naïve leads who unsuccessfully tackle such a emotionally weighty subject.
Even foreign film and indie lovers should be weary of this one.