We all love coming of age movies: films that celebrate the flow of adolescence towards the adult life. These movies are easy to identify not only by their storyline, but the very form of filmmaking employed in shooting them. Flashbacks? Check. Young protagonist as a narrator in the beginning of the film. Check. Young protagonist giving us a ‘moral of the story’ lesson at the end of the film. Check. The struggles of losing virginity subplot. Check (most of the times).
Not only are these movies immediately relatable, but they show us that it is okay to be human and flawed. Here’s a list of such movies that should definitely be on your must-watch list, especially if you’re feeling the burden and monotony of every day life:
Moonlight is the best film of the year, period. To give any plot highlighters would be to do injustice to one of the best scripts of all-time. The film is subtle, beautiful and relates to the vulnerable side within each one of us.
The Age of Seventeen
Spectacular Now isn’t a memorable film: but it sums up the jist of school life better than any other film we could think of. We all have a carefree Sutter inside of us, who shuts off the world and all it’s pain. And most of us have the girl/guy-next-door alter ego within us that defines Cassidy – which makes this romantic coming-of-age drama all that much more personal.
Pan’s Labyrinth