Coming-of-Age Drama movies

Vibe

Realistic Tense Raw Gritty Dusty

Overview

A restless teenager escapes her troubled home and joins a traveling crew of young drifters selling magazines across the American Midwest. Immersed in a world of reckless partying, risky hustles, and fleeting romances, she searches for freedom and belonging on the open road.

Themes

Economic precarity, Deception and manipulation, Search for belonging, Transient labor economy, Temporary community, Youth in motion

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Tense Steady Intimate Restrained

Overview

A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.

Themes

Class inequality, Community support, Poverty and resilience, Education as escape, Mobility through sport, Gendered resilience, Mentorship impact

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Immersive Realistic Intimate Raw Bleak

Overview

Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?

Themes

Bullying dynamics, Coming of age under pressure, Deafness and isolation, Unspoken communication barriers, Social anxiety and belonging, Guilt and social consequences

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Tense Dry Witty Sun-drenched Dusty

Overview

Maik, a fourteen-year-old teenager, sets out on a road trip during summertime with Tschick, a new classmate, in a stolen car. The two share life changing experiences during the eventful journey.

Themes

Risk and improvisation, Family dysfunction, Coming of age tensions, Outsider solidarity, Road trip friendship, Escape through travel

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Tense Intimate Restrained Deliberate

Overview

A young Barack Obama forges his identity while dealing with race, divergent cultures and ordinary life as a New York City college student.

Themes

Race and identity tensions, Urban alienation and belonging, Cultural navigation in the city, Education as social crossroads, Housing and class pressures, Civil rights legacy

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Tense Raw Claustrophobic Brutal

Overview

Summer, New York City. A college girl falls hard for a guy she just met. After a night of partying goes wrong, she goes to wild extremes to get him back.

Themes

Class inequality, Economic desperation, Power dynamics and control, Deception in intimate exchanges, Systemic bias in justice, Desperate debt cycles, Non-violent poc offenders

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Raw Fast-paced Intense Oppressive

Overview

In a ghetto where religion and drug trafficking rub shoulders, Dounia has a lust for power and success. Supported by Maimouna, her best friend, she decides to follow in the footsteps of Rebecca, a respected dealer. But her encounter with Djigui, a young, disturbingly sensual dancer, throws her off course.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Economic precarity driving ambition, Street economy shaping loyalty, Friendship tested by crime, Risk and exploitation of power, Gendered agency under constraint

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Immersive Intimate Relentless Fast-paced Stylish

Overview

High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.

Themes

Time travel ethics, Memory and longing, Nonlinear timeline, Urban fantasy tension, High school romance, Star crossed lovers

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Claustrophobic Bleak Dry Restrained

Overview

In 1951, Marcus Messner, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with anti-Semitism, sexual repression, and the ongoing Korean War.

Themes

Mental health stigma, Parental interference, Class prejudice, Antisemitism pressure, Wartime conscription, Sexual repression norms, College conformity

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Vibe

Realistic Tense Claustrophobic Bleak Oppressive

Overview

A creative and driven teenager is desperate to escape his hometown and the haunting memories of his turbulent childhood.

Themes

Identity and belonging, Art as refuge, Lgbt adolescence under stigma, Family breakdown pressures, Bullying and rejection, Coming of age resilience

Available on

Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.