First Love: The Firsthand Experience

INTRODUCTION

          The film “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, also known as “First Love”, is a romantic comedy that shows what love is in the eyes of young people and how it affect their lives and inspirations. It was released on August 12, 2010 in Thailand. The lead actors are Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul as Nam, and of course, Mario Maurer as Shone. It was written and directed by Puttipong Pormsaka NaSakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong and produced by Somas Tejcharattanaprasert and Panya Nirankol. The film’s original language is in Thai but due to its popularity, most provided subtitles and dubs in other languages including Filipino.

        Nam is a simple, average girl who secretly has a huge crush on Shone, a popular student who is older than Nam. With the support of Nam’s friends, she makes all the effort for Shone to divert his attention to her. 

        The story takes place in a small town (the credit shows that it was in Ratchaburi Province). It is very reminiscent of a country feel-good movie.

        This Thai movie effectively externalizes the concept of sentiment and youth in both the characters' and viewers' perspective.

COSTUME, PROPS, AND SET DESIGN

           From the film, the costume of the characters make the film appropriate to all ages for there were no revealing clothes nor explicit content. Simplicity is seen in their costume because of the standard school uniform, the pretty dresses used for plays or on occasions, and also the casual clothes, which perfectly reflects their modern day high school setting. 

          The props had contributed to the development of characters such as the recurring presence of Shone’s camera, which represents his love for photography. The simplicity of the props and chosen location had made it more appealing, well structured, and relatable to most viewers. The props present in the film had given it a background of an old-fashioned lifestyle. The absence of advanced technology had also added to the environment of a slow easygoing life.

Plot/Script Analysis

          Crazy Little Thing Called Love or First Love embodies the real life adaptation of high school and the futuristic reality of these characters, which makes this film relatable to all audiences. No matter how cliché or stereotypical the plot is (in terms of the characters and setting), the simplicity and entertainment catches the attention of viewers. What makes it a good story is that it captivates emotions and gets the viewers involved regardless of age.

          Besides the obvious comical part of the film, the underlying theme of mutual pining and eventual recovery is a certain tearjerker. This aspect of the movie definitely shared the main character’s pain with the spectators, as well as making them remember how a broken heart can come in different forms.

          The sequence of events that happened was adjusted adequately and creatively. The film’s genre of romantic comedy gives the plot a sense of resonance and tone when the finishing scenes are incorporated.

          To put a bow on this film’s engaging and charming plot, the romantic aspect is sided with the element of friendship. The importance of friendship and loyalty were shown through the protagonist’s friends, especially how maturing and personal choices can be a challenge in a group of equable people.

Overall this movie’s plot and script is refreshing in the sense that it takes you back to the memories of a crush, first love, and friends in school. This is an imaginative purpose in the part of the writers because although the story can be based from true-life events, the film has an independent quality on it, which makes it ingenious, engaging and clever.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

         In most of the scenes, the actors and the actresses were framed in a close up shot or view, especially when they are saying a line. The screen time enables the audience to fully see the emotions and expressions of the characters in a particular scene. 

        The camera focuses on the character who is involved in a particular scene which makes it better because confusion would be avoided, especially for non-Thai viewers. The camera rarely shifts its focus when a person is talking. 

         In the beginning of the movie, there was a voice over of the protagonist named Nam and she was saying a few lines in accordance to the narration of the story. While a voice over was being applied, the focus of the camera was being angled to the first setting of the story. This proves to be aesthetically pleasing not only on the way it was filmed, but also the way it was shown. We’d like to give a definite kudos to Reungwit Ramasudh, the cinematographer of the film.

SOUNDTRACK

       The genre of the Thai film called, “First Love” which is also known as “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is a romantic comedy. Due to its genre, the soundtrack best supports the whole point of the movie. Popular Thai artists and even the lead actress of the film itself sung the songs. The soundtrack of the film itself talks mainly about love. One similarity that is shown in each song is that someone in particular is longing to find love instantly. The film really produced a soundtrack that will really fit with the main idea. The songs prove the simplicity of the movie due to the tone of the song based on how the artists sung it. The songs are catchy and are soft not only for the ears but also for the heart.

CONCLUSION

           Despite the movie’s simplicity, it is overall effective and recommendable. It may be labeled as clićhe but the plot was effective for it does not just relate to the youth but it also takes people back to the memories of their high school days. It may had been produced in Thai but that did not stop the film from achieving success in the industry. The plot, soundtrack, props, and other elements had greatly added to this success. The film was great at presenting the value of simplicity, friendship, family and inspirations through the focused elements.