Best Coming of Age Films:The Ultimate List
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- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsMonica BellucciGiuseppe SulfaroLuciano FedericoAmidst the war climate, a teenage boy discovering himself becomes love-stricken by Malèna, a sensual woman living in a small, narrow-minded Italian town.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMatthew McConaugheyTye SheridanJacob LoflandTwo young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsNicolas CageTye SheridanGary PoulterAn ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.
- DirectorJohn FawcettStarsChris PennDominic ZamprognaStuart StoneIn Ontario, Canada, three fourteen-year-old boys, Kyle, Brad and Eric are forced to perform an ordeal when they find a wounded mysterious fugitive named Luke, who has a gun and claiming to be a cop, has taken a hiding in their clubhouse.
- DirectorSrdjan DragojevicStarsDusan PekicMilan MaricDragan BjelogrlicThis film follows two Belgrade youths on their rise to gangster legends in a decaying society.
- DirectorGabriele SalvatoresStarsAitana Sánchez-GijónDino AbbresciaGiorgio CarecciaA young boy accidentally discovers a deep hole in the ground, where another boy is kept prisoner.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsTahar RahimNiels ArestrupAdel BencherifA delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsMartin CompstonMichelle CoulterAnnmarie FultonDetermined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsOksana AkinshinaArtyom BogucharskiyPavel PonomaryovSixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.
- DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsAndrew GarfieldPeter MullanShaun EvansThe story of a young Jack, newly released from serving a prison sentence for a violent crime he committed as a child.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorMaja MilosStarsIsidora SimijonovicVukasin JasnicSanja MikitisinIn the face of her family life falling to pieces, a social-media-obsessed teenage girl falls into a hedonistic world of sex, drugs, and abuse.
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsBrad RenfroNick StahlBijou PhillipsA pack of naïve teenagers conspire to murder a mutual friend, whose aggressive demeanour has proven too much.
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsLeo FitzpatrickJustin PierceChloë SevignyA day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.
- DirectorFlorin SerbanStarsGeorge PistereanuAda CondeescuMihai ConstantinTwo weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsZoé HéranMalonn LévanaJeanne DissonA family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.
- DirectorJean-Pierre DardenneLuc DardenneStarsThomas DoretCécile de FranceJérémie RenierAbandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hairdresser agrees to foster him on weekends.
- DirectorVíctor EriceStarsFernando Fernán GómezTeresa GimperaAna TorrentIn 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsCandace EvanofskiDonald HoldenDamian Jewan LeeA group of children, in a depressed small town, band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames DeanNatalie WoodSal MineoA rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsMargarita TerekhovaFilipp YankovskiyIgnat DaniltsevA dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
- DirectorMaurice PialatStarsMichel TerrazonLinda GutenbergRaoul BillereyAn anguished foster child takes to mischief and lies as his foster parents do their best to love and care for him. But it might be too little, too late in this emotionally devastating portrayal of the orphaned child.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsPresley ChweneyagaeMothusi MaganoIsrael Matseke-ZuluSix days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
- DirectorCam ArcherStarsMalcolm StumpfPatrick WhiteMax ParadiseA lyrical telling of the coming of age of a 13-year-old boy who learns to cope with his newfound sexuality and his unrequited love for the cool kid in school.
- DirectorJames GrayStarsTim RothEdward FurlongMoira KellyA cold-blooded hitman visits his estranged Russian immigrant family in Brooklyn.
- DirectorJacob EstesStarsRory CulkinRyan KelleyScott MechlowiczWhen a teen is bullied, his brother and friends lure the bully into the woods to seek revenge.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsBabek Ahmed PoorAhmed Ahmed PoorKhodabakhsh DefaeiEight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
- DirectorShane MeadowsStarsThomas TurgooseStephen GrahamJo HartleyA young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
- DirectorDaniel RibeiroStarsGhilherme LoboFabio AudiTess AmorimLeonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsMalcolm McDowellDavid WoodRichard WarwickIn this allegorical story, a revolution led by pupil Mick Travis takes place at an old established private school in England.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsAndreas WilsonHenrik LundströmGustaf SkarsgårdA teenage boy expelled from school for fighting arrives at a boarding school where the systematic bullying of younger students is encouraged as a means to maintain discipline, and decides to fight back.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsBarney ClarkBen KingsleyJeremy SwiftAn adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAsa ButterfieldChloë Grace MoretzChristopher LeeIn 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalXavier DolanFrançois ArnaudA semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
- DirectorFabrice GobertStarsJules PélissierAna GirardotAudrey BastienMarch 1992, in a small town in the suburbs of Paris. During an alcohol fueled party, teenagers discover a body hidden in the bushes of a forest. A body that seems lifeless. Two weeks earlier. Simon, a 16 year-old teenager, has not shown up for class. Blood stains are found in a class-room. Run-away, kidnap, suicide, murder? A few days later, Laetitia, a student from the same class goes missing without her parents knowing where she has gone. A young girl with no dark background or connection to Simon. The next day, Jean-Baptiste, a third student, also disappears. Rumors start to spread. The psychosis begins...
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsGabe NevinsDaniel LiuTaylor MomsenA teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittLukas HaasEmilie de RavinA teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsBrady CorbetJoseph Gordon-LevittElisabeth ShueTwo pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsElias McConnellAlex FrostEric DeulenSeveral ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJosh HartnettJames WoodsA group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorJerzy SkolimowskiStarsJane AsherJohn Moulder-BrownKarl Michael Vogler15-year-old dropout Mike takes a job at Newford Baths, where inappropriate sexual behaviour abounds, and becomes obsessed with his coworker Susan.
- DirectorLaslo BenedekStarsMarlon BrandoMary MurphyRobert KeithTwo rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMatt DillonMickey RourkeDiane LaneAbsent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsC. Thomas HowellMatt DillonRalph MacchioIn a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.
- CreatorJamie BrittainBryan ElsleyStarsKaya ScodelarioNicholas HoultJoe DempsieThe story of a group of British teens who are trying to grow up and find love and happiness despite questionable parenting and teachers who would rather be friends (and lovers) than authority figures.
- DirectorMaurice PialatStarsSandrine BonnaireMaurice PialatChristophe OdentAn erratic young woman's family desperately tries to prevent her increasingly erotic ways.
- DirectorMurali K. ThalluriStarsTeresa PalmerFrank SweetSam HarrisAt 2:37, someone commits suicide in the school lavatory. The day is told up to that point from the viewpoint of six different students.
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsKatie JarvisMichael FassbenderKierston WareingEverything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
- DirectorIlmar RaagStarsVallo KirsPärt UusbergLauri PedajaAn average Estonian high-schooler decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
- DirectorDennis GanselStarsJürgen VogelFrederick LauMax RiemeltA high school teacher's experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.
- DirectorMarius HolstStarsBenjamin HelstadTrond NilssenStellan SkarsgårdNorwegian winter, early 20th century. On the boys home Bastoy, a new inmate leads the boys to a violent uprising against a brutal regime. How far is he willing to go to attain freedom?
- DirectorCatherine HardwickeStarsEvan Rachel WoodHolly HunterNikki ReedA thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobert De NiroKevin BaconBrad PittAfter a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorPaulo MorelliStarsDouglas SilvaDarlan CunhaJonathan HaagensenBest buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorDerek CianfranceStarsRyan GoslingBradley CooperEva MendesTwo men and their sons must deal with the unforeseen consequences of their actions.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsConor DonovanJesse CamachoZoe WeizenbaumAfter his twin brother is accidentally killed by vengeful bullies, a 12-year old boy and his friends face the harsh realities of death, teenage hormones, and family dysfunction.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsBrian CoxPaul DanoBruce AltmanA 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsCrispin GloverKeanu ReevesIone SkyeA high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsGabourey SidibeMo'NiquePaula PattonIn New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
- DirectorBavo DefurneStarsBen Van den HeuvelEva van der GuchtThomas CoumansA teenage boy's search for love finds him fixated on a boy who lives nearby.
- DirectorJordan MelamedStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittMichael BacallZooey DeschanelAfter attacking another player with a bat during baseball at school, Lyle's sent to the psych ward. He meets other teenagers with problems. Will group therapy help?
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsKhalid AbdallaAhmad Khan MahmoodzadaAtossa LeoniAfter spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsSoran EbrahimAvaz LatifSaddam Hossein FeysalNear the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsNatja BrunckhorstEberhard AurigaPeggy BussieckA teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsGael García BernalFele MartínezJavier CámaraAn examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsGaspard ManesseRaphael FejtöFrancine RacetteA French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsGeorges PoujoulyBrigitte FosseyAmédéeA young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsFernando Ramos da SilvaJorge JuliãoGilberto MouraThe life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsRay WinstoneMick FordJulian FirthAn uncompromising story of life in a British juvenile offender institution in the '70s.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsAlfonso MejíaRoberto CoboEstela IndaA group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsTim RothTerry RichardsBill StewartAfter being sent to a detention center, a teenage skinhead clashes with the social workers, who want to conform him to the status quo.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
- DirectorGary OldmanStarsRay WinstoneKathy BurkeCharlie Creed-MilesA rough, short-tempered patriarch of a working-class family sees his life and the relationships around him slowly unravel.
- DirectorTim RothStarsRay WinstoneAnnabelle ApsionKate AshfieldAn alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret.
- DirectorBrad GannStarsMichael AngaranoBrendan GleesonEmily VanCampA teenage boy longs to win the attention of his emotionally distant father.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsAl PacinoKitty WinnAlan VintFollows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsSean PennChristopher WalkenMary Stuart MastersonReunited with his career criminal father, tough teen Brad thinks he's found his ticket to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he's wrong.
- DirectorJean-Pierre DardenneLuc DardenneStarsJérémie RenierDéborah FrançoisJérémie SegardBruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.
- DirectorMartin BellStarsJeff BridgesEdward FurlongJohn BoylanAn ex-convict is tracked down by his estranged teenage son, and the pair try to build a relationship and life together in Seattle.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsTom HanksTyler HoechlinPaul NewmanA mob enforcer's son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.
- DirectorDavid MichôdStarsJames FrechevilleGuy PearceJoel EdgertonA seventeen-year-old navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.
- DirectorMartin BellStarsAnnieEddieAntoineGritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle.
- DirectorNeil ArmfieldStarsHeath LedgerAbbie CornishGeoffrey RushA poet falls in love with an art student who gravitates to his bohemian lifestyle -- and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship alternates between states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsKate WinsletRalph FiennesBruno GanzPost-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsRinaldo SmordoniFranco InterlenghiAnnielo MeleTwo shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsLuigi OrnaghiFrancesca MoriggiOmar BrignoliPeasant life in a feudal farm in rural Italy at the end of the 19th century.
- DirectorVincent PereiraStarsEion BaileyRobert DiPatriJoseph CasseseA high school outcast new to town becomes friends with a violent loner still haunted by the death of his parents.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDavid BradleyBrian GloverFreddie FletcherA working-class English boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet kestrel.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsNadine NortierJean-Claude GuilbertMarie CardinalA young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.
- DirectorMajid MajidiStarsMohammad Amir NajiAmir Farrokh HashemianBahare SeddiqiAfter a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.