First Girl I Loved (2016)

Best movie ever!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Graphic straight sex scene for absolutely no reason. Didn't even bother showing the two girls have sex, we're just supposed to assume they did? Gay girl don't hold hands, stroke each other's face and keep all their clothes on during sex. Really boring overall. Don't know why Cliff pining over a gay girl was such a huge part of the movie. Most people will come to this movie to see a lesbian coming of age story, not Cliff's life story. We don't care.

Kerem Sanga's First Girl I Loved is a coming of age story following confused high-schoolers trying to figure themselves out in respect to who their friends are, sexual preference and how to accept who they are in the face of so much uncertainty and the constant world of judgement that is high school.Anne, our protagonist, Cliff, the best-friend, and Sasha, the love interest, are like most high- schoolers in that they are confused about almost everything. We follow their stories through a mixture of flashbacks and flash forwards in an almost cyclic view as we see Anne coming to terms with her sexuality.For those who attended school in any capacity, you will recall the confusion, the desire to fit in and the fear of judgment from peers whilst simultaneously attempting to understand ones likes and dislikes and to keep it all together with no less than a smile. Both Anne and Sasha comment on the pressure of how they are perceived by their peers with the under confidence of some of the characters and the ability to be unapologetically themselves becoming slightly frustrating for someone who wishes they too stood up for themselves when they were younger.First Girl I Loved isn't all about teen angst and the confusing ride of the ups and downs of friendships. We are given an insight into the world of Softball with subtitles coming up for the hand signals given between a coach and his players and the comic relief in the text messages between the two girls. In a technologically advanced world the mobile phone has really been a big hit providing Kerem Sanga with another medium for the characters to express emotions, one which the younger members of the audience will relate to quite readily.This heart-rendering and complex film comes away with the universal message that nothing can be that bad, even in the face of everything falling apart, with a little bit of self-acceptance life can be a whole lot easier.

I went into this film completely blind. I saw it was part of the NEXT stream and considering the great films that came from last year's (James White), I didn't hesitate. Also, I love high school coming of age films, so I knew when I was at Sundance I was going to see at least one, because there is always one, and it's generally good. And lucky for me, FIRST GIRL I LOVED was fantastic.We follow Anne, a high schooler who starts to form a relationship with a softball player, Sasha, at the dismay of Anne's best friend Clifton, who has had a crush on her since forever. The development of Anne's new feelings for this girl is one of the most real and least exploitative I've seen in film. There's no bullshit tropes that have become so derivative in 'lesbian' films, but even calling this a lesbian film is a disservice to what this film is about. Its a love story that doesn't try to push an agenda. Its sweet, heartbreaking and super cool all at once.Dylan Gelula is fantastic as Anne. She shows awesome range, from the great highs she shares with Sasha to the haunting lows she endures with Clifton. Brianna Hildebrand was convincing as the popular, yet reserved Sasha. I'm glad this is the first thing I saw her in, before her appearance in Deadpool next month. It's a great film to start her breakout year. The chemistry the two girls share is so real. Their banter is effortless, developing their relationship at an organic pace. One thing that I love about their relationship is that its Anne who is trying to court Sasha. Anne is much more confident and cool than Sasha, and usually these narratives tell the story from the more self-conscious POV. FIRST GIRL I LOVED switched it up and it worked for the better, creating a unique and relatable romance.The film features scenes that aren't entirely revealed until later in the story, creating a unique pace for the film. This allows mystery to form around the characters' motivations and reactions. When we are given the full scenes as the film plays out, its a satisfying surprise rather than a cheap trick. We see what the characters' want to remember about the events, but when they have to confront the reality of it, we see the true depths of what really entailed.Louie's Pamela Aldon plays Anne's mother, and amazes which is no surprise to any fans of CK's show. And to my surprise, Tim Heidecker shows up as a counsellor in a role that is subtly hilarious and against type. Workaholics' Erik Griffin was equally hilarious. I'm finishing this review two days after seeing the movie, and its still sinking in. I could keep talking about it, but all I need to say is that I loved it and I'm so eager to see it again. Out of the 11 films I saw at Sundance, this one is definitely among my favourites. Having ended the festival with this film, I could not be more satisfied.

Today I woke up at 6:30am and made my way to the Library Theatre in Park City in near-zero degree weather to see a film I had been eager to see since arriving at Sundance Film Festival. The film, First Girl I Loved, was showing at 9:00am but due to a miscalculation in the bus schedule I ended up arriving at 7:30am and being the first person in line for the screening. This turned out to be fortunate for me because I got awesome seats to the best film I have seen in quite a while and it was preceded by the short Catching Up which set the tone for the film to come.First Girl I Loved, written and directed by Karem Senga, tells the story of a Anne, a high school girl, who finds herself attracted to Sasha who is on the school's softball team. Anne uses her connections in the year book to get close to Sasha and the two become extremely close, taking their relationship beyond friendship. This upsets one of Anne's friends Clifton, who is in love with Anne and unable to cope with the fact that she is not sexually attracted to him. As Sasha and Anne's relationship progresses it becomes more complicated as Sasha pulls away fearing being stigmatized by her family and teammates for being a lesbian.I was blown away by how well the film was written and produced, especially for a writer/director who was only making his third film. The cinematography was excellent and served as an important vehicle for portraying the emotions and ideas of characters. At the same time the editing was crucial for displaying the passage of time, which was done through parallel cutting between takes of cause and effect. For the first full length film I screened at Sundance, it completely surpassed my expectations. I would give this film a 10/10, but on top of that I would suggest that everybody take the time to watch this film because it has a positive message and is a perfect mix of comedy, drama, and is one of the most accurate depictions of high school relationships I have seen.