Goodbye First Love

Subtle modulations of emotion and the search for meaning in the face of adversity, themes that recur throughout Hansen-Løve’s films, are particularly well expressed in her semiautobiographical masterpiece Goodbye First Love. The nuanced coming-of-age story focuses on a young woman, Camille (Lola Créton), and the effects of an enduring teenage love affair. Camille’s frustrated commitment to her first love goes through many iterations in the decade chronicled by the film, which is as much a study of the creative power generated through love as it is a portrayal of specific relationships.