Film
First Love
Other titles called First Love: the 2022 film.
A South Korean short film about two women whose secret love spans four decades. It moves quietly between their youth and old age, charting the small intimacies and sacrifices of a life lived in hiding. Tender and aching, it's for anyone who understands that some loves are no less real for being invisible.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like small, patient love stories where a whole life is held in a few quiet gestures and nobody needs to shout to be understood.
Skip it if you want a story that unfolds with plot momentum, since at 28 minutes this is a fleeting, understated portrait rather than a narrative with much room to build.
What it asks of you: Brief and slow-breathed, with long silences and small everyday moments, so you have to sit still and read faces rather than chase events.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Carol2015
Todd Haynes' masterpiece about two women in 1950s America finding each other across class and circumstance. Visually luminous, emotionally precise, and uncompromising about desire and consequence.
But It moves slowly and deliberately. If you want plot momentum over mood, you'll find it frustratingly paced.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019
A French film about an artist and her subject falling in love during one transformative summer. Achingly beautiful, sensual without being explicit, with a perfect understanding of how art and intimacy intertwine.
But Subtitled and deliberately composed. It demands patience and won't rush to satisfy you.
Moonlight2016
Three chapters of a Black man's life discovering his identity and sexuality. Poetic, unhurried, shot in pools of light. It finds transcendence in small moments and quiet truths.
But Deliberately fragmented structure and minimal dialogue. Some find it too oblique; you have to meet it halfway.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from First Love
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
In the Mood for Love2000
Both films know that restraint and secrecy can make love more poignant, not less. Both find intimacy in what cannot be openly expressed.
Wong Kar-wai's ravishing Hong Kong film about two neighbors who suspect their spouses are having an affair. They begin meeting in secret, falling in love through longing and proximity. A master class in desire communicated through color, costume, and composition.
But Glacially paced, more concerned with visual poetry than plot. It's a film for watching, not following. Requires surrender.
More like this (7)
The Handmaiden2016
A Korean thriller about two women conning a Japanese collector in 1930s Seoul. Twisty, sensual, gorgeously made. The romance sneaks up on you beneath layers of deception.
But Contains explicit sexual content and operates through manipulation and plot reversals. It's a con game as much as a love story.
Fingersmith2005
A British miniseries about con artists and unexpected love in Victorian London. Wickedly clever, gorgeously shot, with performances that break your heart in the last act.
But Period drama pacing. It unfolds like a Victorian novel, which is the point but not everyone's preference.
Thelma & Louise1991
A Norwegian film about a reserved young woman discovering her sexuality and supernatural powers simultaneously. Visually bold and genuinely unsettling, it makes repression palpable and transcendence visceral.
But The magical realism and body horror won't appeal to everyone. It's also deliberately enigmatic about what it all means.
Aftersun2022
Charlotte Wells' debut about a father and daughter on holiday, told through fragmented memory and video footage. Hypnotic and heartbreaking, it captures how we misunderstand the people closest to us.
But Experimental structure and no traditional arc. It's impressionistic rather than narrative, which frustrates people wanting clear answers.
The Half of It2020
A contemporary American film about a closeted teen helping a boy woo another girl—and catching feelings. Charming, funny, and genuinely thoughtful about identity and belonging.
But Netflix teen movie vibes. If you're allergic to that register, even a good one won't land.
Everything Everywhere All at Once2022
A maximalist multiverse film where queer love and family bonds are woven through wild action and absurdist comedy. Genuinely moving beneath all the chaos.
But Relentless sensory overload. The style overwhelms substance for many viewers, and the emotional beats can feel lost in the noise.
Let the Corpses Tan2017
Both use extreme formal choices—here super 8 degradation, there time compression—to make emotional truth feel strange and immediate. Both prioritize mood over story.
A French experimental crime film shot in super 8, scored with droning electronic noise. A couple hides stolen gold in an isolated villa while their world collapses. Visually anarchic, sonically punishing, utterly singular.
But Deliberately antagonistic filmmaking. It wants to alienate you. If cinema should be comfortable or coherent, stay far away.
People
Cast
- Seo Woo-rimYoung-hee
- Jeog Haeng-simSoon-jung