Tag Archives: Coming-of-age drama

The Breadwinner (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): The story of a young girl in Kabul

“The Breadwinner”, a little animation feature film which was recently nominated for Best Animated Feature Oscar, distinguishes itself with its simple but appealing storytelling coupled with an impressive animation style. While its story often feels bleak and desperate for good … Continue reading

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A Prophet (2009) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A criminal education in prison

It is always fascinating to see a smart character rising up from the bottom step by step, and French film “A Prophet” is one of such cases. Here is a plain young man thrown into a grim, violent closed world … Continue reading

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Lady Bird (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Precisely funny and effortlessly poignant

At first, “Lady Bird” looks like another conventional adolescent coming-of-age drama. Again, we have a young heroine eager to go further with her burgeoning life and she surely comes to grow up a lot in the end as being ready … Continue reading

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Call Me by Your Name (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): That bright romantic summer

“Call Me by Your Name”, the latest work from Luca Guadagnino, brims with the sensuous sense of love and romance in its bright, breezy summer atmosphere. While its first half closely and intimately observes its two heroes tentatively approaching to … Continue reading

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American Honey (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Selling and drifting on the road

“American Honey”, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in last year, gives us a vivid, realistic glimpse into a certain type of lifestyle which is not so familiar to many of us. Because I had never … Continue reading

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The Edge of Seventeen (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Edgy, witty, and heartfelt

Edgy, witty, and heartfelt, “The Edge of Seventeen” is a genuine coming-of-age story about that tumultuous life period called adolescence. While it often throws some funny moments of incisive humor via its spunky heroine who tries to deal with her … Continue reading

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20th Century Women (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): Three interesting women in his adolescent life

“20th Century Women” is a warm, sensitive, and humorous film about one adolescent boy who grows up with several colorful people around him during a notable social/cultural transition point in the 20th century American society. Now it sounds like your … Continue reading

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Eve’s Bayou (1997) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A black family drama in the bayou town

The opening scene of “Eve’s Bayou” is one of the most captivating opening lines I have ever encountered: “Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, I was … Continue reading

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Moonlight (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A specific lifetime observed in three acts

Sensitive and empathetic, “Moonlight” is a simple but eloquent coming-of-age tale packed with haunting human moments. While its hero and background are quite specific, we notice universal themes from its intimate drama as watching its hero struggling to find his … Continue reading

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Little Men (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As their little life becomes more complicated

Intimate and sensitive in its low-key approach, “Little Men” quietly shines with small precious moments to be appreciated for the keen depiction of the emotional undercurrents flowing around and between its two young heroes. The movie maintains its gentle, thoughtful … Continue reading

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