First Love

Shot almost entirely on the studio lot, Lee's extraordinary vision of a shy 19-year-old student's unrequited love for her drama teacher unfolds in the run-up to a college production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. The film's own tonal emphasis balances the touching romantic innocence of the girl with the knowing by-play of florid fantasy and down-home reality surrounding her. There's humour and deft observation here; but it's rare to find a movie deep-hearted enough to give touching consideration to the purity of a love untainted by bitter experience, or indeed to view the loss of these illusions with such warm compassion. Unexpectedly impressive.