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1. The Breakfast Club. 1985 1h 37m R. 7.8 (438K) Rate. 66 Metascore. Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought. Director John Hughes Stars Emilio Estevez Judd Nelson Molly Ringwald. 2. American Graffiti. 1973 1h 50m PG. 7.4 (99K) Rate. 97 Metascore.
- Stand By Me. For a genre that’s all about young people, death is absolutely everywhere in coming-of-age movies. Its shadow is all over Stand By Me: when we meet 12-year-old Gordie, he’s lost his brother and his parents are too deep in grief to notice, and he and his three pals go on a quest to find the corpse of a boy their age.
- Boyhood. For most coming-of-age movies, the coming-of-age thing is a shorthand. It’s a rough outline of where you’re heading, not a promise. But Richard Linklater’s 12-year project is not most coming-of-age movies.
- Moonlight. In Barry Jenkins’ Best Picture-winner, we follow the protagonist through three stages of his life – as a child, Little (Alex Hibbert), taken under the wing of local drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali); as a teenager, Chiron (Ashley Sanders), isolated at school and tentatively experimenting with his burgeoning sexuality; and as an adult, Black (Trevante Rhodes), who hides his desire for tenderness under exaggerated trappings of traditional masculinity.
- The Graduate. At his audition to play post-college drifter Benjamin Braddock, Dustin Hoffman was uncertain. He’d never done a love scene, for one thing, and doubted very much whether anyone would buy that a woman like Katherine Ross would ever fancy him.
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Feature Writer/Senior List Writer
- 'Almost Famous' (2000) Director: Cameron Crowe. Almost Famous helped the 21st century get off to a great start, as it was one of the best movies released in 2000.
- 'Y Tu Mamá También' (2001) Director: Alfonso Cuarón. Before he directed a Harry Potter movie and incredible works of science fiction like Children of Men and Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón also made one of the 21st century's best coming-of-age movies.
- 'American Graffiti' (1973) Director: George Lucas. Perhaps most well-known for being a Harrison Ford film directed by George Lucas before they became synonymous with the most famous sci-fi movie ever, American Graffiti also happens to be a coming-of-age classic.
- 'The Graduate' (1967) Director: Mike Nichols. Any young people living today who struggle with the early stages of adulthood may take some comfort in watching 1967's The Graduate.
- Ginger Snaps
- Daisies
- The Perks of Being A Wallflower
- Boy
- Picnic at Hanging Rock
- Aparajito
- Dirty Dancing
- Boyhood
- Marie Antoinette
- Raw
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Getting your period is an oft-examined topic in the horror genre. The body bleeds and the body changes, making it the perfect vehicle for body horror. The transformation of the female body has also lent itself to creature features, as what cultural critic Barbara Creed calls “the monstrous-feminine” cannot possibly be perceived in the human body. E...
Sometimes growing up means recognizing just how selfish the world can be. Such is the case for Marie I (Jitka Cerhová) and Marie II (Ivana Karbanová) in Vera Chytilová’s 1966 film, Daisies. Chytilova was a seminal director in the Czech New Wave, an experimental film movement where filmmakers from Czechoslovakia experimented with narrative, particul...
The feeling of the air on your face during a night drive, your license still new enough to burn a hold in your pocket. The magic of hearing a song on the radio that for just a moment feels like it was made for you alone. The brick-by-brick formation of self and community that takes place in high school: a journal all your own there, a spontaneous R...
When you’re a kid, idolizing at least one of your parents is practically the default. This is especially true for Boy (James Rolleston), a Maori pre-teen who elevates his absent father to mythical proportions. When his dad Alamein (writer-director Taika Waititi) finally returns, Boy and his silent younger brother Rocky (Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu) ha...
A supernatural mystery, an exploration of adolescent power and obedience, and an unrequited queer love story wrapped up in one ineffable story, Picnic at Hanging Rocklives in its own genre. There are numerous characters to which a young viewer can connect: the beautiful, commanding Miranda (Anne-Louise Lambert); the awkward Edith (Christine Schuler...
Grouped together, the Apu trilogy of films by Indian master filmmaker Satyajit Ray form one of the greatest cinematic coming-of-age narratives of all time. But we can’t really name all three for one slot, and unfortunately, they’re not each popular enough to take up three spots on this list either. The greatest and most famous of the three, Pather ...
Dirty Dancing calls its shot in the coming-of-age canon with Johnny Castle’s famous line “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” The film watches Francis “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) grow up over the course of a summertime family trip to the Catskills. When she meets dance instructor Johnny, played iconically by Patrick Swayze, Baby realizes just how sm...
Boyhood is one of the few films on this list in which you quite literally watch its characters grow up and come of age. Filmed over a 12 year period by maestro Richard Linklater — a director reputed for his warm, nostalgic depictions of the passage of time — the movie is an astounding documentation of the lapsing years in Mason Evans’ (Ellar Coltra...
It might not be a growing up experience we’ll ever go through, but the playful historical fiction feels supremely relatable in the hands of writer-director Sofia Coppola. She can fashion Kirsten Dunst, her career muse, in extravagant dresses, shower her with ungodly amounts of attention, and drown her in luxury while preserving the well-tread deafe...
The French New Extremity as a subgenre is all about, well, being extreme. Its films are bloody, gory, and nihilistic as the human body seems to fall apart at the seams. They often focus on the torture of the female body and watching a female character writhe in turmoil. Julia Ducournau’s Rawis all of that but more. She takes a borderline exploitati...
A list of the best coming-of-age films from different genres, cultures, and eras, with brief reviews and analysis. Whether you want to relive your teen years or explore new perspectives, this list has something for you.
Dec 28, 2020 · From classics like The Breakfast Club, Clueless, and Boyz n the Hood to newer fare like Call Me by Your Name and Booksmart, we love them all. Take a trip down nostalgia lane with the best coming...
Jul 18, 2021 · A list of the best streaming options for fans of coming-of-age stories, from Netflix's \"Superbad\" to HBO Max's \"Unpregnant\". Whether you're looking for comedy, drama, romance or adventure, these movies capture the complexities and joys of growing up.
Mar 14, 2023 · A list of the most influential and memorable movies about growing up, from The 400 Blows to Moonlight. Explore the themes, styles, and stories of these classics and discoveries from different genres and eras.
