In a time when many award-winning films seem to be nominated purely for their concept over their content, director Kerem Sanga’s film-making endeavour, The First Girl I Loved, is a breath of fresh air. It’s a movie that works hard to prove it earned its numerous awards and nominations from film festival audiences.
As a coming-of-age film, The First Girl I Loved focuses on Anne (Dylan Gelula) and her newfound realization that she has developed a crush on the star player of her school’s softball team, Sasha Basanez (Brianna Hildebrand). At first unable to decode her feelings, Anne uses her role as a yearbook staff member to slowly learn more about Sasha – however, problems arise when she consults her best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias) for help along the way, not knowing that he holds his own feelings on the matter. The rest of the film goes on to tackle the struggles of friendship, love, and growing up, at a time when Anne and the people around her are all struggling to understand each other, as much as they are struggling to understand themselves.
The most important aspect of the film is its grounding sense of realism. This detail comes across most in the film’s writing, and in the excellent delivery by the main cast. Coming-of-age movies are all too common, but it is always interesting to see a script that allows for its teenage characters to actually behave as teenagers. Through awkward silences, quick conversations, and natural drama, the film presents a world that is not only believable, but relatable to anyone who remembers their teenage years. The level of reliability becomes especially important when the drama progresses, as it grounds the film from straying into the melodramatic.
The cinematography of the film varies, with some scenes presented from one angle for extended periods as if they were filmed from a distance, while other scenes move almost constantly to convey the frantic nature of an event. The different shots aid the film by accurately displaying current tones, however the longer shots tend to feel stagnant when they continue for longer periods. Despite this drawback, the film supplements with its set design, presenting many homes and spaces that are filled with character. The soundtrack of the film accurately represents scenes, but the tracks themselves are not overly memorable outside of the individual moments.
Overall, The First Girl I Loved is a well-presented and acted story that is awkward and human in the right ways. While the film can feel slow at times due to the realistic nature of its delivery, it never goes so far as to include unnecessary detail, even considering its unique pacing of looping events. In addition, while the film holds focus on two females in a romantic relationship, it never makes the love story feel more dramatic than it needs to be, keeping the film enjoyable and worth watching for anyone who remembers struggling to understand their relationships and themselves.
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