In the Coming-of-Age genre, the majority of good short film releases come from the Scandinavian countries. Yet once in a while one stumbles upon an interesting British release such as Al Mackay’s 2009 film Bale. The film tells the story of three kids whose play in the fields is interrupted by older teenagers. The confrontation between the two groups, in the name of a demonstration of superiority, leads to unexpected terrifying consequences…
The 2007 film Jake’s Closet is an intriguing drama, which comes as a surprise as the synopsis could lead one to believe that the film is a horror story. If one is prepared to shake off the genre expectations, Jake’s Closet turns out to be pretty decent film, even if it doesn’t really impress with its cinematography or its actors’ performances.
Funeral Kings – that title first attracted my attention to the movie. Its cover artwork intrigued me too as, for some reason, in combination with the title, the film reminded me of the 2002 film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Certainly the plots of both films have something in common – mischievous youth and an abundance of Coming-of-Age experiences they go through.
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get.”
The quote is from the 1994 film Forrest Gump (which can be also categorized as one with a Coming-of-Age narrative), but I have chosen it for the opening of my review of the independent French film Teenagers.
Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Teenagers offers a distinct experience to its viewers.
The winners of the 5th Annual Coming-of-Age Movie Awards were announced on 2-March-2013. For the past couple of years, in the week following the announcement, we have sought to contact a filmmaker or an actor who worked on a film selected as a winner by the readers of the site. Past interviews have included the Canadian actor Robert Naylor [Best Newcomer and Best International Film (10 ½) – 3rd Coming-of-Age Movie Awards] and Kevin Callies [Director of the 2011 short film The Man in the Red Suit – Best Short Film for the 4th issue of the awards].
This year we are honored to present an interview with the Belgian filmmaker Gert Embrechts, who wrote and directed the Flemish film Allez, Eddy – voted Best International Film. The movie’s lead actor, Jelte Blommaert, also won the Best Newcomer category with his immaculate performance in the film.
If one is looking for an atypical Coming-of-Age film, Markus Imhoof`s Die Reise /The Journey is a good candidate. Two different times – Germany right after the fall of the Nazi government and then later, during the 1960s — are interconnected by two father/son stories presented in parallel, which makes the film both atypical and challenging to grasp at first.
Arguably the essence of the film lies in portraying the various ways in which childhood experiences shape the personality of an adult. Yet, until a clear connection is established sometime in the second half of the film, the sudden changes of setting and action makes one wonder if it’s still the same film or two different films have been purposefully stitched together.
Bertram, son of Will Vesper, the well-known Nazi poet, has had a rough childhood. Teased at school because of the literary works of his father, he is subjected to strict, abusive discipline at home. Years later, having become a father on his own, Bertram is involved with a radical leftist terror organization. When he discovers that the mother of his son Florian intends to take the child to a camp in Palestine, he kidnaps the boy and together they travel through the country to the house of Bertram’s childhood.
Die Reise is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Bernward Vesper and is regarded as a realistic portrayal of the German student society in the 60’s. Yet unconventional editing weakens its value as a Coming-of-Age film.
While I was genuinely interested in the portrayal of Bernward’s youth, a large portion of the film is devoted to his adventures as an adult. If one does not seek the connection between his adult self and his past experiences, the film could pass for a meaningless adventurous timewaster that is neither provoking nor entertaining.
None of the actors leaves any lasting impressions with the exception of Gero Preen in the role of the young Bertram. Sadly, he did not pursue acting as a career and Die Reise remains the only film in which he can be seen.
Since 2008, TheSkyKid.com has facilitated a procedure allowing its audience to vote for films belonging to the Coming-of-Age genre in cinema.
The fifth issue of the awards recognizes excellence in eight categories for films released during 2012.
The categories are Best Actor, Best Newcomer, and Best Performance in a TV Film, Best Cinematography, Coming-of-Age Value, Special Soundtrack, Best Short Film, and Best International Film.
The final votes are counted. We are pleased to present the winners of the 5th Annual Coming-of-Age Movie Awards competition.
Is time travel possible? Can we shape our own destiny?
You may discover the answers to those questions alongside the young protagonist of Time, a short film that is a finalist in this year’s Tropfest in Australia. The film features the credible performance of Nicholas Hamilton in the role of James – an imaginative schoolboy who shares with his friends his take on time travel and, if it was possible, its potential effects on the present day.
Scandinavian films may feel weird at times, but one can’t deny this region of the world releases a great variety of Coming-of-Age themed flicks. That is probably why anyone interested in the genre would have seen at least a dozen films shot in Sweden, Norway or Denmark.
The latest Scandinavian film on my watch list is the 2012 Swedish film Isdraken (The Ice Dragon). In it, eleven-year-old Mik has to face turbulent changes in his life when
Late Bloomer is a devilishly funny, but brilliantly terrifying short film looking at the peck and sting of ‘the birds and the bees.’ Craig MacNeill creates an incredibly humorous take on the perils of sex education, accurately depicting the fear and excitement it can invoke in the mind of a 7th grader.
With allusions to horror writer H.P. Lovecraft (the teacher, Miss Lovecraft) the film embodies a classical horror tone and also evokes memories of alien invasion tales. These influences fuse well with the subject matter to create some hilarious moments.
The story told in some Scandiavian films could cause some viewers real confusion. Such is the case with the 2008 Swedish drama The King of Ping Pong (Ping-pongkingen). Figuring out the main theme of the film (a Coming-of-Age narrative with focus on self-acceptance and forgiveness) doesn’t present much of a challenge, but following the plot development and understanding the motives behind the actions and choices of the protagonists can baffle even film buffs familiar with the particularities of European cinema.
A short film with a twisted story, which one does’t really figure out until the very last scene. Categorizing it: it’s a thriller, or maybe even a horror flick – shocking and provoking. The story creeps up on the film’s viewers as they observe the weird behavior of nine-year-old Ted Henley (Hale Lytle), who helps his father in the running of a motel somewhere in rural America.