I see "My So-Called Life" was already mentioned. What about "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"? There is some nudity, and sexual situations, dunno if that will be problematic for you. Hell, much of the John Hughes catalog should work, though it's from the '80s and might not be considered to be new enough.
@sozobe,
Possibly...I had an idea there was an Australian one....but I just don't know.
My daughter (almost 14) loved the movie "Freedom Writer".
It tells the story about a newly hired female teacher being challenged in a racially diversified neighborhood in south Los Angeles. She learns of the
problems various students have outside of school, deals with the racial tension between students in class and so forth....
http://www.freedomwriters.com/
What about "Dangerous Minds." Inner city high school flick.
This is great!
Here's the list for me to follow up, so far:
Sampson & Delilah
Stand By Me
Juno
Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist
Hairspray
Freaks and Geeks
Degrassi High
Antwone Fisher
Good Will Hunting
Finding Forrester
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Freedom Writer
Dangerous Minds
Pretty In Pink
Thank you so much Deb, Roberta, boomerang, engineer, Soz, farmerman, jespah, CalamityJane & Foofie. You've been so helpful!
Now to follow up: check out the local classifications for suitability & see which are locally & which aren't. Wish me luck. Quite a bit to get through here!
You know, the age group I find the hardest to cater for is the 11 & 12 year olds. Not quite little kids (& they
hate being treated like little kids!) but not quite into the same material as the more sophisticated older students, either. They're dicey, this age group!
One film I've used quite a bit in the past is this one:
About a summer holiday "fat farm" & the new, repressive regime that has taken over from the really nice old couple, who went bankrupt. Ben Stiller is hilarious (& evil! Boo! Hiss! ) as the slave-driving fitness fanatic instructor who is determined that they'll all lose weight & prove his "Perkis method" to be the best way of doing so. Much of the drama & humour in the film revolves around how the boys try to outsmart him & actually enjoy the summer! Lots of good "self esteem messages" included, too. A lot of fun & kids like it, but I suspect it might be getting a bit dated (1995).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavyweights
@msolga,
Along that line, there's a movie called
Holes. I have not seen it but it was based on a rather popular book. A kid is sent to some sort of camp; the punishment is to dig (meaningless) holes.
@jespah,
OH! HOLES IS FABULOUS!!!!
We just watched it for the first time. It's one of those movies that is constantly showing on the Disney Channel and we watched bits and pieces but never the whole thing. My expectations weren't high but I was BLOWN AWAY. Absolutely masterful plotting.
My 8-year-old loved it so it'd be good for the younger group (but not too young, it's not in the least bit patronizing even though it's a Disney movie).
It deals with (American) racism but in a past-tense sort of way -- the modern-day crew is very multi-culti but they don't really deal with any particular issues. A little bit of bullying maybe. Mostly they just deal with psychotic adults, which could be a jumping-off point itself, maybe.
Oh and homelessness is addressed, so that's something else.
It's mostly just a ripping adventure yarn though.
@sozobe,
Quote:OH! HOLES IS FABULOUS!!!!
Oh I know, jespah & Soz!
The year 8 students study both the book & the film! They love it!
OK, films that come to mind for and about teens with subjects that fit their world:
- Zappa (1983), bullying, alienation
- Tro, håb og kærlighed (1984, Twist & Shout), high school in Denmark in the 1960s
- Mitt Liv son Hund (1985, My Life as a Dog), brilliant film set in the 1950s about young teen dealing with growing up and the death of his mother.
Is-slottet (1987, Ice Palace), budding frienship between girls, grief and guilt when one dies in the ice palace.
- F*cking Åmål (1998, Show me Love), budding lesbian romance at small town high school.
- Sofies verden (1999, Sophie's World), introduces kids to the world of philosophy.
Costa! (2001), teen beach holiday, sand, sun, sex and disco
- Hip Hip Hora! (2004, The Ketchup Effect), about dealing with sexual advances and reputation loss
- Säg att du älskar mig (2006), "Say that you love me" is a film intended to educate teens about the issue of rape and all it can entail .
- Älska mig (2008), changing friendships and bullying
- Entre les murs (2008, The Class), dynamics between teacher and students in a highschool class from Parisian suburb.
One footnote: These are all European films and therefore almost all contain scenes with some nudity, the rape scene in Säg att du älskar mig is pretty shocking.
- Bridge to Terabithia (2007), is harmless in that respect.
@farmerman,
Geez farmerman, you forgot the Winslow Boy.
Mean Girls is one ( I've been told ).
On further reflection I remembered a few more (European):
- Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981), teen heroin addiction, true story, pulls no punches.
- Älska mej (1986), young teen in foster family has difficulty accepting love.
- Lust och fägring stor (1995, All things fair), teen falls in love with female teacher.
- Sanning eller konsekvens (1997), bullying and choosing sides
And some harmless US titles (there are so many films set in highschool in the US, but so few that really deal with the issues):
- Fame (1980), art highschool.
- The Breakfast Club (1985), surprised that nobody mentioned it.
- Summer School (1987), comedy, but with some real issues.
@Paaskynen,
Thank you for that long list, Paaskynen! I will sort though!
Oh & I loved
My Life as a Dog! A wonderful fil. I cried myself silly empathizing with that child who lost his mother ... AND his dog!
@msolga,
Hi Msolga,
My life as a dog has so many aspects in one storyline that it is worthwhile seeing it several times. They are working on a sequel (based loosely on the book En Hund Begraven ("A buried Dog") by the same author. I cannot imagine it being equally tragicomical though.
I thought of one more title:
- Everybody's Doing It (2002), about peer pressure
@Paaskynen,
Quote:
My life as a dog has so many aspects in one storyline that it is worthwhile seeing it several times. They are working on a sequel (based loosely on the book En Hund Begraven ("A buried Dog") by the same author. I cannot imagine it being equally tragicomical though.
It was based on a book! I didn't know that. And the film followed the storyline fairly closely? (There were quite a few different themes in the film, as I recall ... though it's been quite a while since I last saw it. Wonderful film, though!
)
@msolga,
Yes, a novel by Reidar Jönssön, but the book is not meant for children like the film. It is grittier.
http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Dog-Reidar-Jonsson/dp/0374523797
@Paaskynen,
I'd like to get my hands on that, Paaskynen! I wonder of there's an English translation available? Think I'll do a bit of Googling.
