Best Teenage/High School Drama Movies Ever Made
There are some great movies about teenagers and their problems that can teach us important things about growing up, sexuality, love, friendship, society and life.
I put here movies with teenagers (youth between 13 and 19 years old) in the main roles or included in the main storyline, but not movies where they are parts of a ''less important'' storyline (American Beauty and American History X, for example). So, here we have crime dramas, thriller dramas, dramas about teenager - mother/father relationship, romantic dramas, comedy dramas, dramas with bullying, gay dramas, dramas about teenager - teacher relationship, mind-twisting dramas, horror dramas, dramas with a high school fighting, jail dramas and sport dramas.
My favorite movies from here are: Whiplash, Love Exposure, The Wounds, Confessions, Flipped, House of Hummingbird, Keith, ...ing, Alpha Dog, The Girl Next Door, The Invisible (2007) and Moving On.
I hope you'll enjoy the list and give me some suggestions, if I missed any notable titles.
P.S. Thanks to Sandra Lukić, who helped me with several titles listed here.
My other lists:
100+ Best Mind-Twisting Movies Ever Made
Best Movies with Grade BELOW 7 on IMDb
Melissa George's Movies - from Best to Worst
Movies with Best Child Performances
Movies That I Own on Original DVD's
My Favorite Directors
I put here movies with teenagers (youth between 13 and 19 years old) in the main roles or included in the main storyline, but not movies where they are parts of a ''less important'' storyline (American Beauty and American History X, for example). So, here we have crime dramas, thriller dramas, dramas about teenager - mother/father relationship, romantic dramas, comedy dramas, dramas with bullying, gay dramas, dramas about teenager - teacher relationship, mind-twisting dramas, horror dramas, dramas with a high school fighting, jail dramas and sport dramas.
My favorite movies from here are: Whiplash, Love Exposure, The Wounds, Confessions, Flipped, House of Hummingbird, Keith, ...ing, Alpha Dog, The Girl Next Door, The Invisible (2007) and Moving On.
I hope you'll enjoy the list and give me some suggestions, if I missed any notable titles.
P.S. Thanks to Sandra Lukić, who helped me with several titles listed here.
My other lists:
100+ Best Mind-Twisting Movies Ever Made
Best Movies with Grade BELOW 7 on IMDb
Melissa George's Movies - from Best to Worst
Movies with Best Child Performances
Movies That I Own on Original DVD's
My Favorite Directors
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- 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.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalAntoine Olivier PilonSuzanne ClémentA widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsSigourney WeaverHenry CzernyRyan KelleyTrue story of Mary Griffith, gay rights crusader, whose teenage son committed suicide due to her religious intolerance. Based on the book of the same title by Leroy Aarons.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorSrdjan DragojevicStarsDusan PekicMilan MaricDragan BjelogrlicThis film follows two Belgrade youths on their rise to gangster legends in a decaying society.
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
- DirectorStephen ChboskyStarsLogan LermanEmma WatsonEzra MillerCharlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
- DirectorLuca GuadagninoStarsTimothée ChalametArmie HammerMichael StuhlbargIn 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonFrantz TurnerJohn Gallagher Jr.A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsFerdia Walsh-PeeloAidan GillenMaria Doyle KennedyA young lad notices a beautiful girl who begins to occupy his thoughts. While struggling with poverty, personal relationships and life's woes, he starts a band, hoping to catch her attention.
- DirectorAndrey ZvyagintsevStarsVladimir GarinIvan DobronravovKonstantin LavronenkoIn the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRiki OkamuraStarsAsae ÔnishiKazuko KatôKaori Torii'1 Litre of Tears' is a Japanese movie mainly based on a published version of Diary.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorGreg BerlantiStarsNick RobinsonJennifer GarnerJosh DuhamelSimon Spier keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends and all of his classmates: he's gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsLea MassariBenoît FerreuxDaniel GélinAs France is nearing the end of the first Indochina War, an open-minded teenage boy finds himself torn between a rebellious urge to discover love, and the ever-present, almost dominating affection of his beloved mother.
- DirectorKang Hyeong-cheolStarsYoo Ho-jeongShim Eun-kyungJin Hee-kyungSeven girls become good friends in high school, then events pull them apart for 25 years. When one of the friends lies dying in a hospital, she wishes to see each of them one last time.
- DirectorYoon-Chul JungStarsCho Seung-wooKim Mi-sookLee Ki-youngAn autistic boy discovers he has a talent for running and with the help of the mother participates in a major marathon.
- DirectorChookiat SakveerakulStarsSinjai PlengpanichSongsit RoongnophakunsriPimpan BuranapimTwo boyhood friends are separated due to the disappearance of the sister of one of them, then later meet again as teenagers, when one of them has become a pop singer, and they discover feelings that they did not know they had.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsMatthew BroderickAlan RuckMia SaraA 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.
- DirectorJosh BooneStarsShailene WoodleyAnsel ElgortNat WolffHazel and Gus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially "An Imperial Affliction", so they embark on a journey to visit an author in Amsterdam.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsLéa SeydouxAdèle ExarchopoulosSalim KechioucheAdèle'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.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
- 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.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames DeanNatalie WoodSal MineoA rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsThomas MannRJ CylerOlivia CookeHigh schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
- 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.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDavid BradleyBrian GloverFreddie FletcherA working-class English boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet kestrel.
- DirectorLukas DhontStarsEden DambrineGustav De WaeleÉmilie DequenneThe intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi's mother. "Close" is a film about friendship and responsibility.
- DirectorBernhard WickiStarsVolker BohnetFritz WepperMichael HinzIn 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.
- DirectorRadivoje AndricStarsKlara HrvanovicOlga OdanovicSnjezana SinovcicA family story as seen through a girl's eyes. It explores that particularly interesting moment of life when childhood is at its end and new, exciting times begin.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsPierre BlaiseAurore ClémentHolger LöwenadlerIn 1944, an 18-year-old boy from small-town France collaborates with the Gestapo and subsequently falls in love with a Jewish girl.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJennifer JonesCharles BickfordWilliam Eythe14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, living in a small town in the south of 1850s France, claims to have seen a divine vision, prompting extreme skepticism, concern from her family, and religious and political turmoil.
- DirectorRok BicekStarsIgor SamoborNatasa Barbara GracnerTjasa ZeleznikRelations between the students and the new teacher of German are extremely tense. When one female student commits suicide, her schoolmates blame the teacher for her death. An awareness that things are not quite so black and white comes too late... (based on true events)
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanBill MurrayOlivia WilliamsA teenager at Rushmore Academy falls for a much older teacher and befriends a middle-aged industrialist. Later, he finds out that his love interest and his friend are having an affair, which prompts him to begin a vendetta.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsMaribel VerdúGael García BernalDaniel Giménez CachoIn Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMadeline CarrollCallan McAuliffeRebecca De MornayTwo eighth-graders start to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites.
- 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.
- DirectorBora KimStarsPark Ji-huKim Sae-byeokJeong In-giSeoul 1994, in the year the Seongsu Bridge collapsed, 14-year-old Eunhee wanders the city searching for love.
- DirectorKelly Fremon CraigStarsHailee SteinfeldHaley Lu RichardsonBlake JennerHigh-school life gets even more unbearable for Nadine when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJenny AgutterDavid GulpililLuc RoegTwo city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
- DirectorSimon ShoreStarsBen SilverstoneBrad GortonCharlotte BrittainA tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.
- DirectorRanda HainesStarsMatthew PerryJudith BuchanGriffin CorkA small-town teacher relocates to one of the country's toughest classrooms.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsHayato IchiharaShûgo OshinariAyumi ItoThe problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
- DirectorNana EkvtimishviliSimon GroßStarsLika BabluaniMariam BokeriaZurab GogaladzeSet in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992. Friends Eka and Natia look to leave childhood behind as they ignore societal customs and work to escape their turbulent family lives.
- DirectorEon-hie LeeStarsLim Soo-jungKim Rae-wonLee Mi-sookMi-na, a high school student living alone with her mother, dreams of having the perfect boyfriend. But can any man hope to live up to her image of the ideal partner?
- DirectorGiddens KoStarsKai KoMichelle ChenShao-Wen HaoA group of close friends who attend a private school all have a debilitating crush on the sunny star pupil, Shen Jiayi. The only member of the group who claims not to is Ke Jingteng, but he ends up loving her as well.
- DirectorRoy AnderssonStarsAnn-Sofie KylinRolf SohlmanAnita LindblomTwo teenagers fall in love over the summer, in spite of cynical and disapproving adults who dismiss their relationship as being nothing but young love.
- DirectorDiego Quemada-DiezStarsBrandon LópezRodolfo DomínguezKaren MartínezA road movie about teenage immigrants and their journey to the U.S.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsDeborah KerrHayley MillsJohn MillsAn elderly woman hires a governess with a mysterious past to look after her disturbed, spoiled teenage granddaughter, who eventually understands the meaning of self-sacrifice as an example of love and grows into a better person.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
- DirectorBo BurnhamStarsElsie FisherJosh HamiltonEmily RobinsonAn introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsAlexandra DahlströmRebecka LiljebergErica CarlsonTwo teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsPaulina GaitanMarco Antonio AguirreLeonardo AlonsoA young Honduran girl and a Mexican gangster are united in a journey across the U.S. border.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRachel RobertsAnne-Louise LambertVivean GrayDuring a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.
- 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.
- DirectorPhilippe LioretStarsVincent LindonFirat AyverdiAudrey DanaBilal sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe and wants to get to England to see his love who lives there.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsKen KanekoMasanobu AndôLeo MorimotoDropping out of high school, two friends at first find success, one as a up-and-coming boxer and one as a low level gangster. Yet, their life decisions still find a way of catching up with them.
- DirectorErnst JohansenLasse NielsenStarsAnders AgensøPeter BjergOve SprogøeTwo precocious boys explore their sexuality at boarding school.
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenStarsSteve CarellMaura TierneyJack Dylan GrazerBased on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
- DirectorJonah HillStarsSunny SuljicKatherine WaterstonLucas HedgesFollows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
- DirectorRoman KarimovStarsIlya LyubimovIngrid OlerinskayaEvgeniy TsyganovThirty-year-old young man Vitaly, running away from annoying problems and mental discomfort, leaves the provincial town of Serpukhov and moves to Moscow, hoping to find harmony with his own "I" here.
- DirectorDeniz Gamze ErgüvenStarsGünes SensoyDoga Zeynep DogusluTugba SungurogluWhen five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer GarnerFaced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTilda SwintonJohn C. ReillyEzra MillerKevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
- DirectorKirsten SheridanStarsFreddie HighmoreKeri RussellJonathan Rhys MeyersA musically gifted orphan, Evan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA 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.
- DirectorRichard LaGraveneseStarsHilary SwankImelda StauntonPatrick DempseyA young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
- DirectorIrwin WinklerStarsHayden ChristensenKevin KlineKristin Scott ThomasWhen a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsTyrin TurnerLarenz TateJune Kyoto LuA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
- DirectorJoshua MarstonStarsCatalina Sandino MorenoGuilied LopezOrlando TobónA pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately-needed money for her family.
- DirectorTodd KesslerStarsElisabeth HarnoisJesse McCartneyMargo HarshmanNatalie, head of her curriculum activities in high school and riding on a tennis scholarship for college, gets Keith as her Chemistry lab partner. As Natalie can be uptight, Keith proves to be the opposite, even while hiding a secret.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorNic BalthazarStarsMarijke PinoyGreg TimmermansCesar De SutterAs an alternative to getting bullied at school, an autistic teenager retreats into the world of online role-playing games.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalXavier DolanFrançois ArnaudA semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
- DirectorMarco KreuzpaintnerStarsKevin KlineKathleen GatiPaulina GaitanAdriana, 13, is kidnapped in Mexico City by Russian sex traffickers. Her criminal 17 y.o. brother starts looking for her. Across the border in Texas, he gets help from a cop.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeRomolo ValliMark BurnsWhile recovering in Venice, sickly composer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes dangerously fixated with teenager Tadzio.
- 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?
- DirectorJonah HillStarsSunny SuljicKatherine WaterstonLucas HedgesFollows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.
- DirectorMarco KreuzpaintnerStarsRobert StadloberKostja UllmannMiriam MorgensternA close friendship between two crew teammates is tested when one slowly discovers he's gay and attracted to the other.
- 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.
- 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?
- DirectorAndré TéchinéStarsÉlodie BouchezGaël MorelStéphane RideauThe fates of two partners are divided.
- DirectorCristian MungiuStarsAdrian TitieniMaria DragusLia BugnarA film about compromises and the implications of the parent's role.