What to watch: The Last First Time
El fin de las primeras veces is a film from Rafael Ruiz Espejo.
Written and directed by Rafael Ruiz Espejo, The Last First Time - El fin de las primeras veces - is a film about a young guy's sexual awakening, in all its messy glory.
The story is set in Mexico. Eduardo is 18. He travels from a small town to Guadalajara - the state capital - to take a university admission exam. Although his mother is doing her best to keep tabs on him, Eduardo (Alejandro Quintana) meets the more-worldly Mario (Carlos E. López Cervantes), and his innocence is soon surrendered.
Mario seems to take pleasure in seducing Eduardo and corrupting him a little, but Eduardo doesn't take much convincing - eager to explore everything that Mario represents.
“I want to tell stories about sexual and gender diversity, without self censorship and without trying to make them friendly to heteronormative audiences..." explains Rafael Ruiz Espejo, speaking about his debut feature. "I’m not trying to educate anyone. I wanted to make a film that makes the LGBTQ+ community feel seen on screen in its brilliant moments and its contradictions.”
Along with an authentically engaging performance from Alejandro Quintana, that's what makes this film very watchable - the way that the film embraces the messiness of a queer sexual awakening.
While our journey may not exactly mirror that of Eduardo, most queer people will be able to identify with the anticipation and excitement of getting to explore things we've only ever dreamed about. Sure, there will be mistakes and regrets along the way, but these are experiences that we'll always remember and will shape who we become.
The Last First Time is distributed by NQV Media and is available on streaming platforms
Gareth Johnson