The new family film in theaters, A Monster Calls, is pretty much the definition of a perfect family film. Capturing the childhood experience for the tough, heartbreaking and often devastating experience it can be to get through, the film is fearless in facing the harsh realities of growing up. Using both realism and fantastical elements of storytelling to capture that universal experience, the movie provides a vital lesson about anger and grief kids and adults should take to heart. A Monster Calls is sure to be praised as one of the best coming-of-age films in years but there are other fantasy films which have used similar approaches to express just how painful it can be to grow up. Here are five of the very best:
Wizard of Oz
Probably the quintessential example for a lot of people but I literally watched this movie for the first time this week to decide whether or not to include it on the list. Glad I did, because I think it’s a prime example of what we’re talking about. Why did it take me so long to watch this movie? (Probably because those flying monkeys sent me crying out of the room as a little kid and I never had an opportunity to give it another try.) Turns out, that’s pretty much the exact reaction the filmmakers wanted me to have-to be terrified by those little monsters. In Oz, evil and innocence are put into strict and clear categories, especially compared to the more nuanced black and white realistic story in Oklahoma. In fact, the Wizard of Oz is a pretty blunt depiction of the concepts kids are trying to understand as they grow up; good and evil, intelligence, courage, heart, and home.
The Fall
Without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite movies of all time, this is truly a masterpiece from Tarsem Singh. Gorgeous visual tell the story of a recently paralyzed stuntman Roy (Lee Pace, captivating) telling the story of his movie to a Mexican girl Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) whose father has just died and lives in the same hospital. While the story within the film is colorful and full of fantastical elements, it gets dark and darker as Roy’s desperate desire to kill himself leads him to trick Alexandria into stealing him morphine. Tarsem has often been criticized for putting his visual style (undeniably strong) above narrative and characters. But in The Fall, they all work together in perfect synergy, allowing the emotional honesty of Pace and Untaru’s relationship to bleed into the operatic events of the fantasy story.
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Where the Wild Things Are
This film has created something of a divide since its release, creating either eager fans or enthusiastic naysayers. To plenty, Max (Max Records) is just too bratty and high strung a kid to emotionally invest in. To others, his overly emotional personality nails the angst of being 8 years old. I happened to love the movie because while I agree that Max’s highly emotional personality would be tough to live with, I also know every kid goes through those stages when there emotions become hard to contain and can make them into little monsters that are hard to control. The power of Where the Wild Things Are is how perfectly the “things” depict the emotions Max struggles to controls everyday during those growing pains.
Inside Out
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Plenty of Pixar’s films could belong on this list, but last year’s Inside Out’s audacious attempt to understand how people (especially kids) cope with their emotions was eye opening. Not only did it provide a film kids could use to explain and visualize how they feel. But it gave a clear, narrative understanding of why sadness is the emotion which can have the strongest hold on us and our memories. And the film benefits from a killer voice cast featuring Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Richard Kind, and the perfectly cast Phyllis Smith as Sadness.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan Labyrinth is an admittedly difficult movie to watch. There’s torture, war, an infant in peril, mothers dying, and the death of a child. Sure, a little girl becomes queen of the underworld in the end, but it also ends with the image of her dying in the real world after being shot by her stepfather. This is definitely a film not for FOR CHILDREN, but about children and truly told from a child’s perspective. But the movie’s breathless fairy tale wrapped around a historical narrative about the Spanish Civil War is undeniably powerful storytelling. And the bigger themes about the grim realities of war, resistance, and who to (and not to) trust are all vital ideas children need to learn to come of age…and Ivana Baquero is perfect as the child who learns everything the hard way.
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