Goodbye First Love
Un amour de jeunesse

The third film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve is a distinctive take on the coming-of-age drama as it covers a seven-year period and does not focus on a single event. It also doesn't attempt to be the timeless story of everyone’s first love experience but rather explores that special time in life which, in reality, is quite unique to every individual. The film feels autobiographical and honest. It defies the traditional Western story arc by unfolding much more in the unexpected ways that life occurs. Structuring a movie like this works best when the characters have a lived-in authenticity, as the ones that populate this film do. This is especially true of the lead, Lola Créton, as the 15-year-old girl/woman protagonist. The film takes us through how this individual navigates her way through her young life and the powerful emotions she experiences for the first time. The picture is totally free of any moralizing or statement-making about love or sex or fidelity. This is not a film about issues, it's a film about feelings.