coming of age

French Film Festival UK 2013: Youth (2012)

by Maryann O'Connor 25 November 2013

Juliette (Esther Garrel) is having the most complicated summer of her Youth, what with trying to impress the know-it-all ‘intellectual millieu’ as her father puts it, losing her virginity and facing the biggest shock of all – her father (Didier Bezace) becoming gravely ill.

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In Review: The Giants (2011) on DVD

by Maryann O'Connor 15 November 2012

Anyone putting Belgian film The Giants into their DVD playing device will notice almost immediate similarities to other quality friendship and coming of age films, particularly Stand by Me. This is no bad thing.

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In Review: Ginger & Rosa

by Silvia Felce 19 October 2012

Ginger & Rosa, the much awaited new film from Sally Potter, talks about teenage friendships, political beliefs and family crisis. Opening with some chilling footage of Hiroshima and the birth of two girls, the film moves straight to 1962, at the beginning of the Cuban missile crisis, where those two girls are now teenagers Ginger […]

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In Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Ben Harris 5 October 2012

Based on the novel of the same name and directed by the novel’s author, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower   follows Charlie (Logan Lerman), a 15-year old freshman who has trouble fitting in. His lack of confidence and awkward social skills make him a prime target for bullies but he’s soon taken under […]

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East End Film Festival 2012: Turn Me On, Dammit!

by Jonathan Hatfull 28 June 2012

It’s not easy being a teenager in a small town. For 15-year-old Alma, things are about to get incredibly difficult. She is, in her own words, horny, using a phone sex line and constantly daydreaming of sexual encounters, mostly focused on her classmate Artur.

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In Review: She Monkeys

by Maryann O'Connor 15 May 2012

She Monkeys, director Lisa Aschan’s first feature film, may, on first glance, represent itself as a coming of age drama. Look a little closer at this Swedish film, however, and you may find something much more complicated and, at times, sinister.

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