Here is an excerpt from an article written by James Ponsoldt for the Huffington Post in which Spectacular Now‘s director identifies and discusses what he considers to be the 25 best coming-of-age films. To read the complete article, please click here.
Here are #25-#21″
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25. BIG WEDNESDAY: Good friends, giant Malibu waves, and Vietnam. Perfect movie combination. John Milius wrote and directed this beautiful 1978 film, and — for whatever reason — it doesn’t seem to get nearly enough recognition (it’s far more grounded and realistic than his ’80s offerings, which include Red Dawn). The film is a real stunner, and Gary Busey gives one of his finest performances (for me, it’s up there with The Buddy Holly Story).
24. APARAJITO: The second in Satyajit Ray’s stunning “Apu Trilogy,” which has always felt like a Bengali cousin to Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel films. Made in 1956 (years before Truffaut’s first film), Aparajito is one of the most timeless and pure coming-of-age films I know, and one of the most painful — it deals unflinchingly with grief over the loss of a parent, and manages to gracefully depict a child’s loss of innocence and awareness of mortality. Apu is a different person at the end of Aparajito — alive, but scarred by life.
23. STAND BY ME: It’s remarkable to me that this film was such a mainstream American hit because it’s really as death-obsessed as any film I can think of. There are multiple deaths that affect the action before the narrative begins. In unique fashion, there’s the death of a lead character that occurs after the film ends (referred to in voice-over). While Stand By Me is a wonderful title, I have to wonder how the film would’ve been received if it kept the name of Stephen King’s novella, The Body. Every boy thinks he’s invincible — until he has his first brush with death. This film is about that moment.
22. KES: This 1969 Ken Loach classic destroys me every time I watch it. A story about a teenage boy named Billy — and his falcon. Kes has heart and soul and an awareness of class and real pain. For whatever reason, this film has always held a place in my heart next to the novel, Where The Red Fern Grows. Both works came into my life at a young age, and both made me bawl like a baby.
21. BREWSTER MCCLOUD: One year before Bud Cort starred in Hal Ashby’s iconic Harold and Maude, he was the lead in Robert Altman’s weirdo follow-up to M*A*S*H. Brewster McCloud is just your run-of-the-mill coming-of-age story about a young man who has a dream — and that dream … is to wear wings and fly in the Houston Astrodome. One of the strangest films in Altman’s canon (although perhaps not quite as out-there as Quintet, which is saying quite a bit), this kooky film is a blast and features truly inspired supporting performances by Stacy Keach, Rene Auberjonois, and Shelley Duvall. I can’t imagine this film ever getting made by a major studio today.
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To read the complete article, please click here.