First Girl I Loved (2016)

Powerful

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

Part of the reason I love this movie is because I relate to it so much. But if I am trying to look at it in a more unbiased state of mind I still feel that as far as lesbian moves go this one is one of the good ones. The acting is great, the writing is real, and the directing is moving.There are few lines that are somewhat cringy but as far as the writing goes, these lines fit into the general awkwardness and inexperience that comes along with teenage-hood. These actors are great in their roles. I really believe that they have a connection and really care about them. The screenplay, I believe, is very well done. And the directing helps create this emotional energy that I cannot explain.I, in my own experience as a lesbian, relate to this movie so much. There are some scenes in the movie that I can just feel the emotion that the actors are trying to get across. It is so eloquently portrayed that I cannot help but feel a connection to it. In short, this movie is good, maybe great. I liked it quite a bit and encourage you to watch it.

Three things drew me to shell out ten bucks for this movie: 1) Coming- of-age story line, 2) Lesbian romance, and 3) Dylan Gelula.Anne, superbly portrayed by Gelula, is a somewhat introverted high school photographer working on the yearbook. Sasha is one of the better players on the softball team, pretty but insecure. Anne interviews her and chemistry blooms. Unfortunately, this critical portion of the story was rushed and clunky, with the end effect of leaving the viewer less invested in the budding romance.Two conflicts are presented. Anne's best (and implied only) friend is another yearbook student, Clifton. When Anne finally manages to convey to him that she has romantic feelings for someone, he reacts poorly to say the least. His negative reaction worsens when Anne haltingly reveals that the object of her affection is another girl. The other conflict is Sasha. The girls sneak into a local bar. Anne is hit on by a male patron. Sasha's jealousy is immediately apparent and she acts quickly, drawing Anne to the dance floor and very soon kissing her passionately in front of everyone there. Yet later in the story Sasha enjoins Anne to secrecy, and lies to friends/family in an effort to stay in the closet when a picture taken in the bar comes to light.Anne's difficult relationship with her mother (a stellar Adlon) adds much-needed dimension to both characters and the movie as a whole, but is not enough to save it. While there is a positive revelation by Anne at the end, it's not sufficient to justify the preceding 90 minutes.The final nail in the coffin is the iterative "critical scene" replay, revealing a bit more with each loop. Nonlinear storytelling is almost impossible to do well, and wasn't done so here. Time that could have been much better spent fleshing out the plot, the high school environment, or Sasha's character was sacrificed by this approach.Sadly, this movie is a splendid example of how excellent ingredients can easily be combined into an unappetizing and unsatisfying final course. I hate to condemn any well-acted lesbian-themed movie because far too few in the genre even exist, but this one is a major disappointment. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

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.