First Love

“This is the 18th year of my life,” Jadwiga says to the doctor she’s visiting to get an abortion. “So, not 18 yet,” he observes dryly. Following several more slightly humiliating questions, he refuses to carry out the operation. Jadwiga and her 19-year-old boyfriend Roman find they have no choice but to let their lives take a completely unexpected course. This intimate film follows the young couple, from their visit to the doctor until after the birth of their child.

In this documentary from the beginning of his career, Krzysztof Kieślowski exposes the institutional obstacles the fledgling couple encounters in early-1970s socialist Poland. But as in his later feature films, the director focuses his attention on the universal aspects of humanity. He follows Jadwiga and Roman as they take their first hesitant steps into the job market, make preparations for parenthood, and attempt to give their first love a future.