Late Bloomer (2004)

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 7^th 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.

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The King of Ping Pong (2008)

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.

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Henley (2011)

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.

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Lights, Camera, Singer: Introducing Offenburg’s Mike Singer

The business of professional video production is Vichy Ratey’s business! The man has already produced young artists like Ryan Hellenbrand, Besart Morina and Ali Delic from the Rap-Hip-Hop milieu. His latest focus is on a 13-year-old Offenburg boy called Mike Singer.

When you watch any of the 15 videos currently on YouTube, you’ll immediately see the expert editing and camera work that marks these small visual masterpieces. Mike may be the singing center of these experiments, but Vichy’s photographic creativity looms through the productions!

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Siemiany (2009)

A co-production of Poland and Belgium, the short film Siemiany tells the story of the growing up experience of two adolescent boys – in particular their sexual awaking. The frequent usage of hand-held cameras and the addition of seemingly isolated scenes (in which various characters directly address the viewer), give the film an almost documentary feel.

The dialogue between Andrzej and Micha, the two young protagonists in the film, may shock some of the more conservative audience.

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Gabriel (1999)

Renaat Coppens’s short film Gabriel impresses with its beautiful cinematography. It appears as if the film was shot using a sepia filter, but in reality the colors are delicate nuances on black and white that gives a surreal, unearthly feel to the movie. The film tells the story of a young boy growing up among nuns at an isolated monastery. His name is Gabriel and he doesn’t think of himself as a boy, but as a fallen angel impatiently awaiting the time when his wings will grow.

One gets to know Gabriel and his surroundings as he narrates the story himself. It soon becomes clear that he doesn’t like living in the monastery and doesn’t think highly of the nuns with one exception: Silvia – the only one who believes in him. Although there are no conversations between the characters of the film, the pictures and sound create a wholesome story aided by a voiceover narrative by the adolescent protagonist. The musical score appropriately features treble voices, keyed fiddles and flutes that mix together to provide a spellbinding musical accompaniment fit for a heavenly story.

**Kai Walgraven Plays the Title Role in Gabriel**

The Coming-of-Age motif of the film can be found in the thoughts of the young Gabriel, who seeks to explore and understand the world that surrounds him. His innocence shines through – emphasized by the appearance and the expressions of the young Kai Walgraven as Gabriel. Quite frequently, beautifully shot films tend to disappoint with their stories. But that is not the case with this one. On the contrary, I was amazed by the sad, poignant and unexpected finale.

You can see the film at the site of its director Renaat Coppens .

IMDB listing

CHARLIE 13

Today I stumbled upon FutureStates – an intriguing independent TV series that features various filmmakers’ visions of what American society will look like in the future. From the digital shorts they have made available on their website, I chose Charlie 13 for two reasons: it’s a Coming-of-Age narrative and it focuses on privacy and individualism.

In Charlie 13‘s version of the future, families are tracked by the government with microchips in their fingertips, so that the government knows where its citizens are at all times. Charlie is a boy of twelve, going on thirteen, and is required to submit to a government-mandated tracking implant- for his own good, for “his safety”. He still can make a choice …if they let him….

CHARLIE 13 By Michael McMillian

These days most people have a camera in their pocket, governments utilize spy satellites and many carry a tracking device with them all the time – their cell phone. Some people would argue that if you are not doing anything wrong then why worry about privacy rights. But, hey, you don’t do anything wrong in the bathroom too (I assume) but you still wouldn’t want to do it in the middle of Times Square.

In the movie, Charlie’s mother urges him to get the implant with the words “The whole world is watching you now. You have to step in line like everyone else”. Another argument for the usage of implants mentioned by one of the characters in the film was that they “make you part of something bigger”. Hearing this made me recall a similar argument used by people who try to convince you that there is no harm in opening a personal Facebook account.

Charlie 13 makes us think about our right to have our own life and privacy. The media is only too happy to spread paranoia these days – making people believe that children (and even adults) are less safe than they were ten or twenty years ago. Are we willing to give up our individuality for reasons of conformity and safety?

Director/Producer/Writer Michael McMillian states that his film features a universal story about a “13-year-old kid who is a getting a good look at the world of adulthood and doesn’t like what he sees”. I totally identify with that statement and congratulate Mr. McMillian for having the courage to address the now controversial issues of personal freedom. The short film is shot extremely well and the acting was better than average. But the best feature of the film is its message.

Watch Charlie 13 – A Future Friday Premiere on PBS. See more from FutureStates.

Ways to Live Forever (2010)

I knew this film was going to be strong and memorable. It is not the first Coming-of-Age drama about the sensitive issue of a child death I have seen. The Last Snows of Spring, Matching Jack, Oscar et la Dame Rose and Planta 4a live in my memory with their emotional content. The 2010 coproduction of the United Kingdom and Spain, Ways to Live Forever touches one mainly because its protagonist – the twelve-year-old Sam (Robbie Kay) who has been diagnosed with leukemia — narrates his own story.

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Tribute to Madonna – the VOGUE BOY

Childhood memories. I stumbled upon a great video on Vimeo that was shot in the 90s and puts to shame the viral clips of today. In the video, Robert Jeffrey shares a recording of a dancing performance he did at nine-years-old to the music of his favorite singer — Madonna.

I have rarely seen someone dancing with such enthusiasm (exceptions of course are the performances of Marcel Pietruch and George Sampson). This video got picked by various media such as The Huffington Post and Jezabel and I could not resist doing a blurb about it for this site.

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Bezhin Meadow (1937)

If you open any textbook on cinema and cinematic language it almost certainly will contain references to one of the pioneers of the cinema: Sergei M. Eisenstein. Although the scene of the Odessa stairs massacre in Battleship Potemkin (1925) is usually the one chosen for analysis, I picked another one of his films: Bezhin Meadow, which was released in 1937.

Unfortunately, due to the political tensions of the time, no copies of the film have survived to this day. But, in the 1960s, the script, negatives, story board, and notes on the film were utilized to reconstruct it. The result is a 31 minute silent short film, which is the one I viewed and on which this review is based.

The story in Bezhin Meadow represents a symbolic struggle between a boy of the new Russia and his evil father of the old one. At first I had doubts that a film such as this, which seemed somewhat similar to viewing an image slideshow set to music, would have any emotional impact on me. I was up for a surprise. After all, movies are a sequence of still frames that, when screened at specific speeds, create an illusion of movement.

Although the Bezhin Meadow frame rate was only about 2 frames per second, my mind kept reconstructing the situations and events it showed. It was as if half of the film was seen and half imagined. As it’s a silent film, I obviously couldn’t judge acting performances from the way the cast delivered dialogue, but the actors’ expressive emotions were well conveyed on their faces. The masterful photography had as remarkable an effect on me, favorably comparable to anything I have felt after watching a poignant Coming-of-Age film produced in recent years.

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The soundtrack, based on works by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, felt heavy and intense and truly enhanced the mood of the film. This is the second film I have seen which features music from Prokofiev, the 1989 French drama Je suis le seigneur du château (I’m the King of the Castle) being the first — and I am truly amazed at how his music heightens the dramatic impact of a scene.

While I imagine that seeing Bezhin Meadow will benefit mostly students of cinema and young directors, I don’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone for the film’s artistic values that have made it a real classic of Coming-of-Age cinema.

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

The Jump (1999)

The German short film Der Sprung/The Jump (1999) relates the story of the friendship between two German boys, put to the test when they become victims of local bullies. Will they stand up for each other? Can they get it back…or will the desire of the day to be on the side of the strong prevail? This is a tale about friendship and the courage to conquer one’s own fears…

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Bulgarian Coming of Age Movies

Each nation has them: classic Coming-of-Age films popular with audiences within the country, but with limited or no awareness about them on the international level. Throughout the years, I’ve been able to discover intriguing movies from places like Russia, Poland and the Czech republic – largely thanks to discussions at online communities and forums that focus on world cinema.

Those discussions have inspired me to introduce seven films from Bulgaria. Most of these films were never released with English subtitles, which limit their audience primarily to countries that utilize the Cyrillic alphabet. Most of the Coming-of-Age and children`s films in Bulgaria

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Late Bloomer (2004)

The King of Ping Pong (2008)

Henley (2011)

Lights, Camera, Singer: Introducing Offenburg’s Mike Singer

Siemiany (2009)

Gabriel (1999)

CHARLIE 13

Ways to Live Forever (2010)

Tribute to Madonna – the VOGUE BOY

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

The Jump (1999)

Bulgarian Coming of Age Movies