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Last night I finally watched Bridge to Terebithia. It was, as advertised, fairly true to the book, which was nice. I could have done without a lot of the effects, but I was glad to see that they didn't dwarf the human drama. My only real complaint was with the music and montages, which I found patently inane.
So, as is my habit, once we finished watching the movie I started trying to categorize it. What's it like? I came up with a partial list: Whalerider Peter Pan (2003, live action) My Girl Kiki's Delivery Service Iron Giant The Secret of NIMH Stand by Me
and I wondered if my fellow Jatraqueros would help fill out the list. The criteria, as best I can describe them, are sentimental coming of age stories that involve tragedy and joy. I'll continually amend this list in the original post with suggestions that I like (presuming there are some).
<edit> Oh, some honorable mentions I've thought of; things that almost fit the list, but not quite: The Sandlot Old Yeller East of Eden
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I haven't seen enough of those to know if this really fits, but The Secret of Roan Innish comes to mind.
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Free Willy, while a great movie, lacks the emotional gravitas I think I'm looking for. I might put it in the same category as The Sandlot, perhaps, as a close but no cigar.
Secret of Roan Innish is good. A little stark, though. I don't get the same "warm sweater" type feeling from it.
Not movies, but other entertainments that belong to the same category for me are The Wonder Years and Dandelion Wine.
Sorry if I'm frustratingly vague. It's one of my faults.
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Hmm. Would Hayao Miyazaki films qualify? Like all of them?
Some other suggestions:
Billy Elliot The Iron Giant Au Revoir Les Enfants (my favourite film in the world) Inside I'm Dancing (also goes by the name Rory O'Shea Was Here) Stand By Me ****ing Åmål Brothers Lionheart Mean Creek
I'm sure there are others once I think of them... I like films of this genre also.
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quote:Originally posted by grammargoddess: What was that they're doing to Amal???
The town is called Amal, and the first word in the title (yes, it's the f-word) isn't a verb; it's an adjective. "Frikkin' Amal", basically.
It's a wonderful coming of age movie about a couple of teenage girls. It's got English subtitles, and it was also marketed as "Show Me Love".
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quote:It's a wonderful coming of age movie about a couple of teenage girls. It's got English subtitles, and it was also marketed as "Show Me Love".
Whoops. I should've realized there'd be a different international title to that film. They only have rather lame curse words in Swedish language which is why they have to resort to using English ones. They curse in Finnish too because their naughty words just lack the proper punch.
And yeah, it's one of the best coming-of-age films there is. It was very personal to me as well as I was the same age as the main characters when the film came out, and it really struck some notes with me. It was also a big hit around here, it was something we watched in school.
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Good stuff. My favorite addition so far is The Iron Giant. I'm also adding The Secret of NIMH and Kiki's Delivery Service. I'm debating adding Stand by Me. Several of the others might fit the bill, but I haven't seen them, so instead I'll take them as suggestions for future viewing.
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How Green Was My Valley might also be a good candidate.
And if you haven't seen Au Revoir Les Enfants I really suggest you do, it seems to me it would fit perfectly amongst the other movies you chose. It's an 1987 French film about Jewish boys being hidden in a Catholic school doing World War II, and a French boy who befriends one of them. (Also, here's some background info on how the film relates to the director's own childhood.)
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I've often thought of checking out Au Revoir Les Enfants, but I just never do. Sometime I'll do it.
Good call on How Green was my Valley as well. There's just a certain richness to some coming of age films, full of joy and sorrow and wonder.
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quote:It's a wonderful coming of age movie about a couple of teenage girls. It's got English subtitles, and it was also marketed as "Show Me Love".
Whoops. I should've realized there'd be a different international title to that film. They only have rather lame curse words in Swedish language which is why they have to resort to using English ones. They curse in Finnish too because their naughty words just lack the proper punch.
And yeah, it's one of the best coming-of-age films there is. It was very personal to me as well as I was the same age as the main characters when the film came out, and it really struck some notes with me. It was also a big hit around here, it was something we watched in school.
Do you live in Sweden?
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In Finland. It was actually quite unusual for a Swedish film to get that popular here, usually we just watch Finnish & American films.
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I thought of The Mighty when I saw it, too, but I must confess that afterward I think I said something to my wife like "It's like 'The Mighty' without hope that things will get any better."
I never read the book, the previews (not untypically) were completely misleading, and I didn't know what to expect. The performances are all great, but man... That was *not* what I wanted to see that night.
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I don't think Stand By Me fits. Stand By Me is a much better movie than Bridge to Terabithia; among other things, it was a far more realistic portrayal of childhood. In addition, the tragic elements weren't tacked on, as they were in Bridge and My Girl to give the story a gravity it was otherwise lacking.
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quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I don't think Stand By Me fits. Stand By Me is a much better movie than Bridge to Terabithia; among other things, it was a far more realistic portrayal of childhood. In addition, the tragic elements weren't tacked on, as they were in Bridge and My Girl to give the story a gravity it was otherwise lacking.
Well, I'd say just because Stand by Me is better, doesn't mean they can't be the same sort of movie. I agree that the "shocking" tragedies in both Bridge and My Girl feel gratuitous, but I also think both movies manage to weave the daily disappointments and joys and fears of early adolescence into the fabric of the film, and that's what my main classifier is.
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Hmmm, I'd put The Journey of Natty Gann in a category with Cider House Rules. The friendships have a different quality, the innocence is diminished, although the emotional richness is still there.
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Simon Birch? *I must admit that I haven't seen the newest version of BTT* But Simon Birch fits the genre being described, wonderful movie.
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