A list of films about adolescence, from classics to coming-of-age comedies and stories revolving around teacher-student relationships to dramas about bullying, falling in love, and friendship – and which we wished we had seen during those moments when we felt misunderstood or lonely in our youth.

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017)

A touching and simple film, in its attention to detail and the human way it portrays the difficulties of a headstrong 17-year-old who wants to go off to a prestigious college away from her family, without attempting to sugarcoat at all the protagonist’s (Saoirse Ronan, earning an Oscar nomination for her performance) frustrations. Throughout the film, Lady Bird shifts from solipsism to acknowledgement, especially of her parents. From idealising her dreams and journey to looking at herself with more maturity and realism. A portrait of adolescence (often harsh and hard to understand) and coming of age, which I believe any teenager would see themselves in. And a much talked about debut film at the time of its release. (Laura Mușat)

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Le Père Noël a les yeux bleus / Santa Claus Has Blue Eyes (Jean Eustache, 1966)

Jean Eustache’s second film is, like the first, almost a demythologisation – a fiercely anti-Truffaldian perspective (François Truffaut, with whom he shared so much, including Jean-Pierre Léaud, this magnificent actor whose youth they filmed side by side, will remain until the end the absolute negative reference for Eustache), which strips adolescence of any claim to glory and throws it into the mundane of perfectly forgettable days. There is no rebellion here (the parents have long been dead, and there is nothing more to expect from society), no big goals: in these days of sixties ferment, Eustache films a life that is pure survival, a string of basic needs (a warmer coat, a cigarette, a girl) consumed in the frustration of a small provincial town. A filmmaker without illusions par excellence, Eustache embraces here everything that resists fiction, drawing the tragic sap from the tragedy of ordinary people’s lives and thus highlighting its intrinsic dignity: never have cowardice, crawling, the muffled shriek of existence sounded more radical than here, in this gentle cynicism that hides a desperate form of humanism. (Victor Morozov)

Welcome to the Dollhouse (Todd Solondz, 1996)

I regret not having seen this coming-of-age black comedy when I was the same age as the protagonist, Dawn Wiener, because I would have seen myself in this cult movie that so successfully captures the brutality of preadolescence. I don’t know how Solondz manages to be cynical and sensitive at the same time, but I can only be glad and recommend this film with which I strongly resonated, reminding me of that insecure girl who experienced intense bullying in middle school. Special mentions: the inevitable crush on an older boy who barely knows she exists, the subtle humour, the sensational young actress, Heather Matarazzo, and a punk soundtrack signed by Daniel Rey (Ramones) that’s sure to leave you humming and headbanging for a few good days. (Ana Maria Comănescu, director of Horia, a road-movie with teenagers)

À ma sœur! / Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat, 2001) 

A New French Extremity classic, À ma soeur! might not seem like the ideal film to recommend to a teenager, but given the brutality and transgressive images it incorporates, it comes across as an enlightening and overt representation of the female adolescent experience. Anaïs, the protagonist, witnesses the emotional and sexual awakening of her older sister – a 15-year-old who aligns with traditional social and beauty norms a lot more than her. The process pushes Anaïs to begin her own initiatory anti-coming-of-age journey. A dark and strongly feminist French film from a rather cynical perspective, which I believe has an educational component in its discourse on family relationships and power dynamics in sexuality. Not an easy watch, but one that will stay with you forever. (Bogdan Alecsandru, director of short-film Antrenamentul de noapte)

Falcon Lake (Charlotte Le Bon, 2022) 

After seeing Falcon Lake, in the days when actress-turned-director Charlotte Le Bon’s wonderful debut continues to haunt you, you realise that, well, of course a film that perfectly captures adolescence in its essence must be a horror film! Because, more than the rebellion and effervescence depicted in films by the likes of Xavier Dolan or Gregg Araki, the coming-of-age process comes with a fair amount of fear and shyness that follows you every step of the way. An uncanny melange of genres and emotions where desire holds hands with death, Falcon Lake seems to have set out, along with All of Us Strangers, to redefine the ghost movie – it doesn’t get under your skin to make you see things in the dark, but to give you the final blow after slowly tearing you apart. Just like this otherworldly piece of music playing as the end theme. A small film, but one that leaves a very deep mark. (Laurențiu Paraschiv)

A Moment of Romance (Benny Chan, 1990)

If you’ve ever scrolled through Pinterest or Tumblr, you might have come across this picture where everyone is desperately asking “movie name pls” – and the desperation is warranted, as you immediately recognise the romance in it without knowing the film: a girl in a wedding dress clings tightly to her groom on a speeding motorcycle, her dress flapping behind her and the road turning into a streak. A Moment of Romance isn’t just about teenagers, but it’s a teen movie par excellence, soaked to the last stitch of the denim jacket in the recklessness and excess of youthful love, which burns urgent and pure and that everyone tries to stop. Chan’s film is a classic of Hong Kong cinema and a prime example of its finest hour (late 80s, early 90s), making the perfect marriage between gangster film and romance. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) is nothing compared to the forbidden love between young triad member Wah Dee (Andy Lau) and rich teenager Jo Jo (Chien-lien Wu): declarations of love are made with blood running down the face and people kiss like there’s no tomorrow. This first film of the director is the 90s sublimated into a crystal of passion, packed with everything their cinema worships in general but more specifically about youth culture: neon lights, slow-motion explosions, speedsters and illegal racing, telenovela-like fervour, and – absolutely iconic – melancholic, catchy synth chords that make you dream of your own love like in the movies. Andy Lau’s charisma almost makes you blush – his James Dean-like magnetism makes A Moment of Romance exactly that teenage thrill you felt when looking at the poster of your favourite heartthrob on the wall. (Dora Leu)

Ostře Sledované Vlaky / Closely Watched (Jiří Menzel, 1966)

As a new dispatcher at a rural train station in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, Miloš (Václav Neckář) is a teenager more interested in losing his virginity than his boring job or the resistance movement. A coming-of-age wrapped in black comedy, Jiří Menzel’s film is accessible, funny, incisive at times, and very horny. It can be an ideal first contact with the Czechoslovak New Wave for the uninitiated. (Ștefan Ristea, cinephile; you can find hime almost all the time at the Cinematheque)

Entre les murs / The Class (Laurent Cantent, 2008)

When Entre les murs (winner of the Palme d’Or in 2008) came out, much was written about this new entry in French cinema: set in a multi-ethnic schoolroom in the Parisian suburbs, the film stars a real-life former teacher, François Bégaudeau (who is also the author of the novel of the same name on which the film is based), who must hold tough conversations with his “difficult” students – all non-professional actors –, thus treading a very provocative line between documentary and fiction. The back-and-forth built from snippets of discussions between the 15-16-year-old students and a teacher who must encourage independent thinking, but also maintain order, handle their anger, and sometimes swearing, is absolutely captivating and feels real. No wonder, given that it’s the result of a process of hundreds of hours in which Cantet filmed actual school classes and then improvised classroom moments in such a way as to achieve a school happening effect. Like a reality TV show about education and relationships, but where no one is concerned with being too didactic, humiliating or embarrassing, instead looking with hope and trying to learn something. (Anca Vancu)

Redacție

An article written by the magazine's team