By Omeleto
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Offered since 2010, MyFrenchFilmFestival showcases the breathtaking diversity and quality of contemporary French cinema. Omeleto is proud to partner with UniFrance to highlight short film selections from the collection, which range from charming children’s animations to gritty psychodramas to quietly resonant family narratives. No matter what the genre, this group of shorts highlights the creative risk-taking and emotional depth that makes French cinematic art uniquely vibrant.
A man and a young woman take off across the French countryside towards Paris, where the young woman is due to start university in the city. They are an unnamed father and daughter named Leah, who aren’t close and haven’t been in one another’s lives very much, and this is both their first and last road trip together.
As they eat together, talk and then reach Paris, they attempt to navigate a profound awkwardness and get to know one another. Just when they become closer, though, they must part, as Leah embarks on her new, independent life, leaving the newfound closeness with her father in question.
This short road drama — directed by Mathilde Profit with a script she co-wrote with Maxime Berthemy — portrays the idea of distance, both as a space to be traveled and as a psychological journey between two people. Told with exceptional naturalism and a deep trust that the story’s quietness speaks volumes, it captures two people at an unusual junction. A family unit has come together, just when one of the parties is finding freedom and identity beyond family altogether.
This gap is bittersweet for both, but the writing refuses to over-dramatize the situation with earnest discussions or overt tension. Instead, the luminous and observational visual style and pacing focus on gestures, looks and silences to build the dynamic between father and daughter, who are beautifully played by actors Luna Carpiaux and Satya Dusaugey. Stolid and laconic, the father makes paternal gestures and basic conversation as they eat, drive into Paris and settle into her cramped flat. Her dad’s attempts at being fatherly often draw Leah’s detached bemusement. They have flickers of connection and openness — including a telling conversation about the past — but the distance between the pair might be too much to bridge, even for one long road trip.
With its languorous rhythm and poignant images, “First Goodbyes” has a sweetness to it, particularly in its tender musical score, tenuously vulnerable dialogue and attention to small but telling detail. Memories, it seems to say, are made from these small exchanges and gestures, and so are relationships, which build moment by moment on a continuous stream. For Leah and her father, a potential rapport develops, but also a melancholic sense of lost opportunity. It’s not hopeless — one can imagine the pair building a sturdier connection when Leah settles into adulthood. But it will likely be some time until that happens. So much time has already passed, though — like a river carrying them along for a brief moment together, until it pulls them apart.
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video
