My First Time

A good student preparing for her exams meets a boy about to drop out. Both are caught inside the arrangements their families have made for them. The film treats a first sexual experience not as a turning point but as a small event beside what these two tell each other. The narrative gives its weight to class difference and to what the families expect. Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar directed; she became better known afterwards for films set in French schools. Vincent Perez is in the cast. Who it's for: those who like quiet French youth drama. Who it's not for: viewers who want to know where a narrative is heading; the film ends somewhere unexpected and hard.