100 Best Coming of Age Films

by cemcorder | created - 24 Sep 2013 | updated - 04 Sep 2014 | Public

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1. La haine (1995)

Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama

24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili

Votes: 196,235 | Gross: $0.31M

2. The 400 Blows (1959)

Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama

A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.

Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble

Votes: 128,015

3. Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama

In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.

Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri

Votes: 175,060 | Gross: $0.33M

4. And Your Mother Too (2001)

R | 106 min | Drama

89 Metascore

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ana López Mercado

Votes: 128,845 | Gross: $13.62M

5. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

84 Metascore

Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray

Votes: 366,648 | Gross: $45.51M

6. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

86 Metascore

Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.

Director: Benh Zeitlin | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes

Votes: 85,049 | Gross: $12.80M

7. Kids (1995)

Unrated | 91 min | Drama

63 Metascore

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.

Director: Larry Clark | Stars: Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, Sarah Henderson

Votes: 84,596 | Gross: $7.42M

8. Children of Heaven (1997)

PG | 89 min | Drama, Family, Sport

77 Metascore

After 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.

Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi

Votes: 80,650 | Gross: $0.93M

9. This Is England (2006)

Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama

86 Metascore

A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.

Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim

Votes: 128,692 | Gross: $0.33M

10. The Spectacular Now (2013)

R | 95 min | Drama, Romance

82 Metascore

A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."

Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Votes: 161,328 | Gross: $6.85M

11. Thirteen (2003)

R | 100 min | Drama

70 Metascore

A 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.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed, Vanessa Hudgens

Votes: 97,943 | Gross: $4.60M

12. Stand by Me (1986)

R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

75 Metascore

A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell

Votes: 441,339 | Gross: $52.29M

13. Dogtooth (2009)

Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Thriller

73 Metascore

A controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Passalis

Votes: 110,308 | Gross: $0.11M

14. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama

86 Metascore

A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.

Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark

Votes: 40,641 | Gross: $2.44M

15. American Graffiti (1973)

PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama

97 Metascore

A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.

Director: George Lucas | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith

Votes: 98,086 | Gross: $115.00M

16. In a Better World (2010)

R | 118 min | Drama, Romance

65 Metascore

The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.

Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Markus Rygaard, Wil Johnson

Votes: 41,668 | Gross: $1.01M

17. Egg (2007)

97 min | Drama

Yusuf, who goes to town for his mother's funeral, meets his mother's friend Ayla. Ayla pressures Yusuf to fulfill her mother's vow.

Director: Semih Kaplanoglu | Stars: Nejat Isler, Saadet Aksoy, Ufuk Bayraktar, Kaan Karabacak

Votes: 5,667

18. Offside (2006)

PG | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport

85 Metascore

The struggle of women in a country that excludes them from entering stadiums.

Director: Jafar Panahi | Stars: Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Mohammad Asarian

Votes: 8,604 | Gross: $0.18M

19. The Breakfast Club (1985)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

66 Metascore

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy

Votes: 436,238 | Gross: $45.88M

20. Paradise: Hope (2013)

Unrated | 92 min | Drama

78 Metascore

The final installment in Ulrich Seidl's Paradise trilogy, 'Paradise: Hope' tells the story of overweight thirteen-year-old Melanie and her first love. While her mother travels to Kenya ('... See full summary »

Director: Ulrich Seidl | Stars: Melanie Lenz, Verena Lehbauer, Joseph Lorenz, Michael Thomas

Votes: 4,989 | Gross: $0.01M

21. The Father (1996)

91 min | Drama

Mehrollah is a 14-year-old boy who is forced to find a job to support his family after his father dies. He travels to the southern parts of Iran, looking for work. Upon his return to his hometown, he notices certain changes in his family.

Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Hossein Abedini, Mohammad Kasebi, Parivash Nazarieh, Hassan Sadeghi

Votes: 1,704

22. Billy Elliot (2000)

R | 110 min | Drama, Music

74 Metascore

A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.

Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven

Votes: 142,552 | Gross: $22.00M

23. Paranoid Park (2007)

R | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

84 Metascore

A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Gabe Nevins, Daniel Liu, Taylor Momsen, Jake Miller

Votes: 31,900 | Gross: $0.49M

24. Spring Breakers (2012)

R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

63 Metascore

Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. While partying, drinking, and taking drugs, they are arrested, only to be bailed out by a drug and arms dealer.

Director: Harmony Korine | Stars: Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine

Votes: 148,709 | Gross: $14.12M

25. Bad Education (2004)

NC-17 | 106 min | Crime, Drama

81 Metascore

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Javier Cámara, Daniel Giménez Cacho

Votes: 63,400 | Gross: $5.21M

26. Elephant (2003)

R | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

70 Metascore

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Elias McConnell, Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson

Votes: 97,203 | Gross: $1.23M

27. Gummo (1997)

R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama

19 Metascore

Lonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.

Director: Harmony Korine | Stars: Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Lara Tosh, Jacob Reynolds

Votes: 38,221 | Gross: $0.02M

28. Tough Enough (2006)

98 min | Crime, Drama

From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It's about ... See full summary »

Director: Detlev Buck | Stars: David Kross, Jenny Elvers, Erhan Emre, Oktay Özdemir

Votes: 3,539

29. Same Same But Different (2009)

Not Rated | 107 min | Drama

The unexpected, uncertain love story of Sreykeo, a 21-year-old bar girl in Phnom Penh, and Ben, a young German student traveling to Cambodia on a post-graduation summer trip.

Director: Detlev Buck | Stars: Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, David Kross, Jens Harzer, Stefan Konarske

Votes: 2,047

30. The War Zone (1999)

R | 98 min | Drama, Thriller

68 Metascore

An alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret.

Director: Tim Roth | Stars: Ray Winstone, Annabelle Apsion, Kate Ashfield, Lara Belmont

Votes: 11,179 | Gross: $0.25M

31. Trainspotting (1996)

R | 93 min | Drama

83 Metascore

Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.

Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd

Votes: 725,281 | Gross: $16.50M

32. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

66 Metascore

Two ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.

Director: Gurinder Chadha | Stars: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher

Votes: 116,443 | Gross: $32.54M

33. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama

80 Metascore

A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin

Votes: 517,787 | Gross: $59.89M

34. The Color of Milk (2004)

90 min | Comedy, Romance

Selma's mother died giving birth to her, and Selma's step-aunt is living proof that men only cause trouble. So the 11-year-old girl makes a deal with her best friends that they will stay ... See full summary »

Director: Torun Lian | Stars: Lars Brunborg, Tobias Bøksle, Celine Engebrigtsen, Maria Elisabeth A. Hansen

Votes: 685

35. The Graduate (1967)

PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

83 Metascore

A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.

Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels

Votes: 288,252 | Gross: $104.95M

36. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy

61 Metascore

A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones

Votes: 386,204 | Gross: $70.14M

37. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)

Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Family

Eight-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.

Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Khodabakhsh Defaei, Iran Outari

Votes: 18,664

38. Turtles Can Fly (2004)

PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, War

85 Metascore

Near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.

Director: Bahman Ghobadi | Stars: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Hiresh Feysal Rahman

Votes: 20,747 | Gross: $0.26M

39. Kes (1969)

PG-13 | 111 min | Drama, Family

A working-class English boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet kestrel.

Director: Ken Loach | Stars: David Bradley, Brian Glover, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie

Votes: 22,920

40. That's What I Am (2011)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

53 Metascore

In 1965, 13 y.o. paperboy Andy's paired up with a geek on a project in the popular junior high teacher's class. Andy learns and grows from it.

Director: Michael Pavone | Stars: Ed Harris, Chase Ellison, Molly Parker, Daniel Roebuck

Votes: 10,955

41. Maria Full of Grace (2004)

R | 101 min | Crime, Drama

87 Metascore

A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately-needed money for her family.

Director: Joshua Marston | Stars: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Guilied Lopez, Orlando Tobón, Virginia Cristina Ariza

Votes: 36,179 | Gross: $6.52M

42. Iki Genç Kiz (2005)

Not Rated | 107 min | Drama

About two teenage girls, Behiye and Handan, with contrasting characteristics and backgrounds.

Director: Kutlug Ataman | Stars: Hülya Avsar, Vildan Atasever, Feride Çetin, Sezgi Mengi

Votes: 1,682

43. Somers Town (2008)

Not Rated | 71 min | Comedy, Drama

77 Metascore

A black-and-white study of a social environment in London, concentrating on a pair of unlikely new friends and the girl they both fancy.

Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Piotr Jagiello, Ireneusz Czop, Perry Benson, Thomas Turgoose

Votes: 6,719 | Gross: $0.05M

44. Sister (2012)

Unrated | 97 min | Crime, Drama

81 Metascore

A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.

Director: Ursula Meier | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Kacey Mottet Klein, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson

Votes: 7,207

45. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)

NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance

90 Metascore

Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing

Votes: 162,984 | Gross: $2.20M

46. Clip (2012)

Unrated | 102 min | Drama

54 Metascore

In 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.

Director: Maja Milos | Stars: Isidora Simijonovic, Vukasin Jasnic, Sanja Mikitisin, Jovo Maksic

Votes: 7,203



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