You are here:

First of May

Name: First of May
Director: Chou Ko-Tai
Released: 2015
Duration: 110 min

Representation Score

1.0/10

Minimal

2015

Director

Chou Ko-Tai

Runtime

110 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

First of May anchors its emotional core in a teenage girl’s perspective, giving Bai room to experience desire, fear, and confusion. Women in the film actively manage finances, home design, and family conversations, resisting passive domestic roles. The older timeline shifts narrative weight toward men, and the film’s cultural lens stays narrowly local. There is no visible racial or ethnic diversity beyond the Taiwanese setting, and no LGBTQ+ or disability representation appears in the available material. The result is a grounded, character-driven drama that humanizes ordinary family tensions but does not expand its representational scope beyond conventional boundaries.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does First of May have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

No LGBTQ+ characters appear in the available plot details or dialogue. The narrative centers on a teenage girl’s complicated feelings for a male admirer, with no queer relationships or identities shown.

How does First of May portray gender?

Fair

The plot follows teenage Bai navigating her desires and a stalker’s attention. Adult women manage household and business decisions, though men hold primary narrative focus in the older timeline.

How racially and ethnically diverse is First of May?

Minimal

Set in Taiwan with an entirely Asian cast, the film shows no characters of color or cross-cultural relationships in the provided material. Representation remains confined to the local demographic.

How does First of May represent religion and culture?

Limited

Family dynamics are central, featuring a single mother, grandmother, and a father with a new partner. Adults discuss marriage pragmatically, and one woman openly challenges her husband’s hobbies.

Does First of May include disability representation?

Minimal

No characters with physical or mental disabilities appear in the synopsis or dialogue. The story focuses on typical adolescent and adult life stages without addressing disability.

Present on Screen

Centers a teenage girl’s perspective and emotional life.
Depicts women managing finances, home design, and family conversations.
Shows complex, non-idealized adult relationships and family structures.

Limited or Absent

No visible racial or ethnic diversity beyond the local setting.
No LGBTQ+ characters or relationships are included.
No characters with disabilities are represented.

Official Synopsis

Weaving two stories set 30 years apart, First of May is about a middle-aged man looking back at his teenage years, dreaming of his first and possibly only love. At the center of the drama is Bai, a 17-year-old student living with her single mother Wong Lei, and her grandmother. Bai gradually falls for her admirer/stalker Yeh, who is always walking behind her and her best friend Wen Wen wherever they go.

How are these scores produced? →