Goodbye First Love

Camille is a 15-year-old who finds herself deeply, almost feverishly, in love with Sullivan, a 19-year-old who has his sights set on a long excursion to South America with friends. The arrangement hits a rough patch when Sullivan announces he won’t bring Camille along, stirring insecurity and resentment in her. She clings to a vision of their romance, pestering him with accusations that his departure proves he doesn’t truly love her. Before he leaves, they flee to Camille’s alpine home in the Ardèche for a final, seemingly perfect escape. The vacation starts off in a warm, sunlit glow, but the mood darkens when Sullivan vanishes on a long errand, leaving Camille alone and growing restless. A brief quarrel tests their bond, yet they eventually reconcile, with Sullivan vowing that his love for her will endure.

When Sullivan eventually departs for his trip, Camille sinks into a corrosive mix of longing and doubt. She receives letters from him at first, letters that good-naturely ease into a heavier, unhappier tone as time goes on. Eventually Sullivan confesses that he wants to end the relationship, and the cadence of correspondence dies away. In a shattered moment, Camille attempts to take her own life, but survives and resolves to move forward with her life.

Nearly four years pass. Camille throws herself into work and study, pursuing architecture, and gradually discovers a new, deeper attachment to an older, more stable mentor: Lorenz. He becomes both a source of security and an intellectual match, a foil to her earlier romance and a promise of a steady path forward. Time moves on, and four more years drift by. Camille, now established in her career and in a relationship with Lorenz, unexpectedly crosses paths with Sullivan’s mother and then reconnects with her old boyfriend. On the very day she encounters Sullivan again and feels the undeniable pull of still-deep attraction, she also endures a miscarriage, a painful blow that unsettles the delicate balance of her life.

When Lorenz travels for work, Camille and Sullivan resume an affair, admitting that their love never truly faded. This rekindled bond strains Camille’s relationship with Lorenz, especially after she secretly plans a trip to Sullivan’s new home in Marseilles, under the pretense of visiting a friend. A strike derails the plan, canceling her train, and Sullivan sends a casual text to say that he’s busy with work and they can try again later. Not long after, Camille visits her mother and receives a letter Sullivan wrote home, recounting a dream of her with someone else and of a pregnancy that never came to be. He declares that their timing is off—too soon or too late—and that they must break up so he can seek a future without the ache of their love.

With time, Camille rebuilds her connection with Lorenz. Back in the Ardèche, she invites him to the river for a moment of quiet togetherness. He agrees to meet her there, and she brings along a hat Sullivan had gifted her for their earlier getaway. A final, quiet image lingers as the hat is carried away by the river currents, floating out of reach and into the distance as the film closes, leaving Camille to reckon with the echoes of love, loss, and the road ahead.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:23