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In a remote mountain village, the teacher must leave for a month, and the mayor can find only a 13-year old girl, Wei Minzhi, to substitute. The teacher leaves one stick of chalk for each day and promises her an extra 10 yuan if there's not one less student when he returns. Within days, poverty forc …es the class troublemaker, Zhang Huike, to leave for the city to work. Minzhi, possessed of a stubborn streak, determines to bring him back. She enlists the 26 remaining pupils in earning money for her trip. She hitches to Jiangjiakou City and begins her search. The boy, meanwhile, is there, lost and begging for food. Minzhi's stubbornness may be Huike and the village school's salvation. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | writingdyinghopeeducationillnesspovertytheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | bus stationtruckcityurban settingrural settingvillagebicyclebusschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipaunt nephew relationshipmayorchineseteenage girlsecurity guardthiefgirlteacherboysingerchildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationship …mother son relationshipfamily relationships (See All) |
Story: | brick factorymusic lessonsleeping in the streetchinese flagrepayment of debtsearch and rescue missionbed wettingbus ticketsubstitute teacherfemale teacherprimary schoolstreet cleanerrural chinaroll callsundial …wokactor shares last name with charactermemorizationreference to mao tse tungrailroad stationschoolmasterphilanthropistamateur actorchalkchalkboardlost childwashing dishesinkdonationtv cameralessonchild labortv stationbrickloudspeakerpenbeggingtv interviewlearningstation wagonnervousnessdeskmegaphonekittenteasingcoca colastreet marketmathematicsbeggaradvertisementtractorpeasantdonkeyposterclassmatehungerpromisecelebrationfollowing someonehitchhikingtv showtemplestealingteasleepingclasssadnessactor shares first name with characterpursuitdiaryflowersdebtfactorysearchbatheatingmontagemountainnewspapertelevisionclassroombathroomcafebedrunningtearsbookletterwatching tvurinationfoodsongcryingtelephone callbased on true storychasesingingfight (See All) |
Ricci, an unemployed man in the depressed post-WWII economy of Italy, gets at last a good job - for which he needs a bike - hanging up posters. But soon his bicycle is stolen. He and his son walk the streets of Rome, looking for the bicycle. Ricci finally manages to locate the thief but with no proo …f, he has to abandon his cause. But he and his son know perfectly well that without a bike, Ricci won't be able to keep his job. (Read More)
Themes: | povertytheftmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckbicyclebusrestaurant |
Characters: | thiefboysingerchildrenmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | beggingbeggarposterhungerfollowing someonestealingpursuitsearcheatingcaferunningtearsurinationfoodsong …cryingchasesinging (See All) |
The story of Seita and Satsuko, two young Japanese siblings, living in the declining days of World War II. When an American firebombing separates the two children from their parents, the two siblings must rely completely on one another while they struggle to fight for their survival.
Themes: | dyingillnesstheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckbicycleschooltrain |
Characters: | aunt nephew relationshipthiefgirlboysingerchildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | railroad stationwashing disheshungerstealingsleepingbatheatingrunningtearsletterurinationfoodsongcryingbased on true story …singingfight (See All) |
In 1944, upper class boy Julien Quentin and his brother Francois travel to Catholic boarding school in the countryside after vacations. Julien is a leader and good student and when the new student Jean Bonnet arrives in the school, they have friction in their relationship. However, Julien learns to …respect Jean and discovers that he is Jewish and the priests are hiding him from the Nazis. They become best friends and Julien keeps the secret. When the priest Jean discovers that the servant Joseph is stealing supplies from the school to sell in the black market, he fires the youth. Sooner the Gestapo arrives at school to investigate the students and the priests that run and work in the boarding school. (Read More)
Themes: | theftfriendship |
Locations: | bicycleschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | thiefteacherboysingerfriendmother son relationship |
Story: | bed wettingteasingmathematicsclassmatestealingsleepingclasssearchbathclassroombathroomrunningtearsbookletter …urinationfoodsongcryingtelephone callchasesingingfight (See All) |
The story of John Lennon's childhood and teenage years from 1944 to 1960, his relationship with his aunt Mimi and his mother Julia -the two dominant women in the first part of his life-, his first meeting with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, their friendship, their love for music and the birth o …f The Beatles. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | theftmoneyfriendship |
Locations: | bicyclebusschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | aunt nephew relationshipteenage girlthiefgirlteacherboysingerfriendmother son relationship |
Story: | teasleepingsadnesseatingmontagecaferunningtearsbookletterurinationfoodsongcryingtelephone call …based on true storysinging (See All) |
Poppy Cross is happy-go-lucky. At 30, she lives in Camden: cheeky, playful, frank while funny, and talkative to strangers. She's a conscientious and exuberant primary-school teacher, flatmates with Zoe, her long-time friend; she's close to one sister, and not so close to another. In this slice of li …fe story, we watch her take driving lessons from Scott, a dour and tightly-wound instructor, take classes in flamenco dance from a fiery Spaniard, encounter a tramp in the night, and sort out a student's aggressive behavior with a social worker's help. Along the way, we wonder if her open attitude puts her at risk of misunderstanding or worse. What is the root of happiness? (Read More)
Themes: | friendship |
Locations: | urban settingbicyclebusschool |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteacherboysingerchildrenfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | primary schoollessonlearningstreet marketclassflowerseatingclassroomrunningbookfoodsongtelephone callchasesinging …fight (See All) |
In the South American jungle supplies of nitroglycerin are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four men to deliver the supplies in two trucks. A tense rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers and on the rough remote roads the slightest jolt can result in death.
Themes: | dyingillnesstheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckrural settingvillagerestaurant |
Characters: | thiefboysingerchildrenfriend |
Story: | loudspeakercoca colastreet marketbeggarhungerstealingsleepingmountainnewspapercaferunningtearsletterurinationsong …cryingtelephone callsingingfight (See All) |
An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their children and are confronted by indifference, ingratitude and selfishness. When the parents are packed off to a resort by their busy, impatient children, the film deepens into an unbearably moving meditation on mortality.
Themes: | dyingillnessmoneyfriendship |
Locations: | urban settingrural settingvillagebicyclebusschooltrain |
Characters: | teachersingerchildrenfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | desktempleteasleepingclasssadnessbathclassroomletterfoodsongcryingtelephone callsinging |
Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim's life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his … mind. A best friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach ("Swifty") who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an unhealthy appetite for heroin -- all of these begin to encroach on young Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star. Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother's mounting concern for her son. He can't go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie, an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim "picked up a game" now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | dyingillnesstheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | cityurban settingbusschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teenage girlthiefteacherfriendmother son relationship |
Story: | classmatestealingclasspursuitdiaryeatingclassroombathroomcaferunningtearswatching tvurinationfoodcrying …telephone callbased on true storychasefight (See All) |
Young Caucasian Dan Dunne teaches history and coaches the girls basketball team at a Brooklyn high school populated primarily by black and Hispanic students. To the chagrin of his superiors, Dan bucks the outlined curriculum of historical facts in favor of the philosophy of historical events, genera …lly discussing the concept of dialectics. As such, he captures the imagination of his students, at least in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, Dan's life is in shambles. He has a distant but cordial relationship with his family. He uses illicit drugs rampantly. Although his former girlfriend Rachel was able to clean up her drug habit, Dan believes that rehab will not work for him. Due to a combination of these issues, he treats women poorly. Thirteen year old Drey is a student in his class and a player on his basketball team. Drey has her own problems. Her parents are divorced, with her father a virtually non-existent figure in her life and her EMT mother generally absent as she is always working to provide for Drey. Her older brother Mike is incarcerated for selling drugs for a local dealer named Frank. Mike took the fall for Frank, who in turn protects Drey whether she wants to be associated with him or not. Dan and Drey's relationship changes when Drey catches Dan, believing he is alone, smoking crack in the girl's locker room bathroom. He is totally stoned. Their resulting friendship, which is seen as inappropriate by the few who know, is based on each being unable to dea… (Read More)
Themes: | writingtheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high school |
Locations: | urban settingbicycleschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlthiefteachersingerfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | substitute teacherwashing disheskittenstealingclassdebtnewspaperclassroombathroomcafebookurinationsongtelephone callsinging |
Erik is expelled from school for fighting. He ends up at a private boarding school where the senior students control the young ones. Erik finds a friend in Pierre, his room mate. The story revolves around Erik who just wishes to be left alone and graduate. He doesn't listen to what the seniors have …to say and they don't like it. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | writingtheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | bicycleschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | thiefteacherfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | beggingmathematicspromisesleepingeatingnewspaperbookletterurinationfoodtelephone callbased on true storyfight |
In the early 1960's, sixteen year old Jenny Mellor lives with her parents in the London suburb of Twickenham. On her father's wishes, everything that Jenny does is in the sole pursuit of being accepted into Oxford, as he wants her to have a better life than he. Jenny is bright, pretty, hard working …but also naturally gifted. The only problems her father may perceive in her life is her issue with learning Latin, and her dating a boy named Graham, who is nice but socially awkward. Jenny's life changes after she meets David Goldman, a man over twice her age. David goes out of his way to show Jenny and her family that his interest in her is not improper and that he wants solely to expose her to cultural activities which she enjoys. Jenny quickly gets accustomed to the life to which David and his constant companions, Danny and Helen, have shown her, and Jenny and David's relationship does move into becoming a romantic one. However, Jenny slowly learns more about David, and by association Danny and Helen, and specifically how they make their money. Jenny has to decide if what she learns about them and leading such a life is worth forgoing her plans of higher eduction at Oxford. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | educationtheftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicyclebusschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlthiefteacherboysingerchildrenfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | learningteasingteaclasspursuitflowersmontageclassroomcafetearsbooklettersongcryingsinging |
Zahra's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zahra until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali's. School awaits. Will the plan succeed?
Themes: | illnesspovertyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | urban settingbicycleschool |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipgirlboychildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | promiseteaclasssearchclassroomrunningtearswatching tvcrying |
Mike Waters lives on the street and befriends the somewhat older and streetwise Scott Favor who shows him what is necessary to survive. Waters suffers from narcolepsy and can fall asleep at any moment and in almost any circumstance. Favor comes from a rich family and is rebelling against his own bac …kground. They travel together extensively - Waters is driven by the need to find his biological mother - and spend time in Italy. Later in life however, Favor has joined mainstream society and has little time for his old friend. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | povertytheftmoneyfriendship |
Locations: | truckcityurban settingrural settingrestaurant |
Characters: | thiefgirlboysingerfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | coca colahitchhikingstealingsleepingsadnesspursuitflowerssearchbathcafebedtearsletterwatching tvurination …songcryingchasesingingfight (See All) |
'Slow West' follows a 16-year-old boy on a journey across 19th Century frontier America in search of the woman he loves, while accompanied by mysterious traveler Silas.
Themes: | dyingtheftmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Characters: | thiefgirlboysingerfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | peasantteasleepingpursuitsearcheatingmountainbedrunningtearsurinationfoodsongcryingchase …singing (See All) |
Forty-two students, three days, one deserted Island: welcome to Battle Royale. A group of ninth-grade students from a Japanese high school have been forced by legislation to compete in a Battle Royale. The students are each given a bag with a randomly selected weapon and a few rations of food and wa …ter and sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred (with a few minor rules) game to the death, which means that the students have three days to kill each other until one survives--or they all die. The movie focuses on a few of the students and how they cope. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mitsuko, while others like the heroes of the movie--Shuya, Noriko, and Kawada--are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwell down lower and lower on an hourly basis, is there any way for Shuya and his classmates to survive? (Read More)
Themes: | dyingfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | truckbicyclebusschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlgirlteacherboychildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | roll callloudspeakermegaphoneclassmatehungerpromisesleepingclasspursuittelevisionclassroomcaferunningtearsfood …cryingtelephone callchasefight (See All) |
59 year old Ove is the block's grumpy man who several years earlier was deposed as president of the condominium association, but he could not give a damn about being deposed and therefore keeps looking over the neighborhood with an iron fist. When pregnant Parvaneh and her family moves into the terr …aced house opposite and accidentally backs into Ove's mailbox it turns out to be an unexpected friendship. A drama comedy about unexpected friendship, love and the importance of surrounding yourself with the proper tools. (Read More)
Themes: | theftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicyclebustrainrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlgirlteacherboyfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | washing disheshungerpromisesleepingpursuitflowersnewspapercaferunningbookletterfoodcryingtelephone callchase |
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father ('Brad Pitt' (qv)). Jack (played as an adult by … 'Sean Penn (I)' (qv)) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | hopeeducationtheft |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | urban settingbicycleschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | chinesethiefboychildrenmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | washing dishespromisefollowing someonestealingsleepingclassflowerssearchbatheatingnewspaperclassroomcaferunningtears …bookfoodcryingtelephone callfight (See All) |
Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The intr …overt freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the real world. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | writingdyingillnessfriendship |
Mood: | high school |
Locations: | truckrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipaunt nephew relationshipteenage girlgirlteacherboysingerfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | promiseclasssadnesseatingclassroombathroomcaferunningtearsbookletterwatching tvfoodcryingtelephone call …singingfight (See All) |
The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician (recently deceased) tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his papers and her estranged sister who shows up to help settl …e his affairs. (Read More)
Themes: | writingeducationillnessfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicycle |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteacherfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | deskmathematicsclasssadnesssearchclassroomtearsbookwatching tvcryingtelephone call |
Single father Dan Burns dedicates his life to his children, but one day he meets Marie at a bookstore. They get to know each other, but then Dan finds out that Marie is actually dating his brother, Mitch.
Themes: | writing |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | busschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | girlboysingerchildrenfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | washing dishesstation wagoneatingnewspapercafetearsbookfoodsongcryingtelephone callsinging |
Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | dyingillnessfriendship |
Mood: | high school |
Locations: | busschool |
Characters: | teenage girlgirlboyfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | promiseclassflowerseatingmontageclassroomletterwatching tvfoodsongcryingtelephone callsingingfight |
Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD to initiate a search. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description; he says he's her son. To fanfare and photos, the LAPD reunite mother and son, but she insists he's … not her boy. The cops dismiss her as either a liar or hysterical. When she joins a minister in his public criticism of the police, they in turn use government power to silence and intimidate her. Meanwhile, a cop goes to a dilapidated ranch to find a Canadian lad who's without legal status; the youth tells a grisly tale. There's redress for murder; is there redress for abuse of power? (Read More)
Themes: | dyinghope |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | busschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | mayorgirlteacherboysingermother son relationship |
Story: | classpursuitsearchbatheatingnewspaperclassroombathroomcaferunningtearsfoodsongcryingtelephone call …based on true storychasesingingfight (See All) |
A mother lives quietly with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do-joon, providing herbs and acupuncture to neighbors. One day, a girl is brutally murdered, and Do-joon is charged with the killing. Now, it's his mother's call whether to prove him innocent or to leave him imprisoned.
Themes: | writingmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | busrestaurant |
Characters: | teenage girlgirlboyfriendmother daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | teasingfollowing someoneteasleepingdebtsearcheatingcaferunningtearsbookwatching tvurinationfoodcrying …fight (See All) |
Katherine Ann Watson has accepted a position teaching art history at the prestigious Wellesley College. Watson is a very modern woman, particularly for the 1950s, and has a passion not only for art but for her students. For the most part, the students all seem to be biding their time, waiting to fin …d the right man to marry. The students are all very bright and Watson feels they are not reaching their potential. Altough a strong bond is formed between teacher and student, Watson's views are incompatible with the dominant culture of the college. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | friendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicycleschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlteachersingerfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationship |
Story: | nervousnessmathematicsadvertisementclassnewspaperclassroomcafetearsbookletterwatching tvfoodsongcryingtelephone call …singing (See All) |
Christy Brown is a spastic quadriplegic born to a large, poor Irish family. His mother, Mrs Brown, recognizes the intelligence and humanity in the lad everyone else regards as a vegetable. Eventually, Christy matures into a cantankerous writer who uses his only functional limb, his left foot, to wri …te with. (Read More)
Themes: | writingpovertymoney |
Locations: | restaurant |
Characters: | teenage girlgirlboysingerchildrenfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | chalkstealingteaflowerseatingbedbookfoodsongtelephone callbased on true storysingingfight |
In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamental …ists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | theftfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | citybicycleschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teenage girlthiefgirlteacherboychildrenfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | loudspeakerbeggarclasspursuiteatingmountainnewspaperclassroomcafebedrunningtearsbookwatching tvfood …cryingtelephone callchasefight (See All) |
County Durham, during the endless, violent 1984 strike against the Thatcher closure of British coal mines. Widower Jackie Elliot and his firstborn, fellow miner Tony, take a dim view of 11 year-old second son Billy's poor record in boxing class, which worsens when they discover he sneakily transferr …ed to the neighboring, otherwise girls-only-attended ballet class. Only one schoolmate, closet-gay Michael Caffrey, encourages Billy's desire, aroused by the teacher, who judged him talented enough for private lesson, to train and try out for the world-renowned Royal Ballet audition. Only the prospect of a fancy career unimagined in the pauper quarter may twist pa and big brother's opposition to indispensable support. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | povertymoneyfriendship |
Locations: | busschooltrain |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteacherfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | lessonclasssadnessbathmontageclassroombathroomrunningtearsbookletterurinationcryingtelephone callchase |
In 1986, In Brooklyn, New York, the dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals composed by the university professor Bernard and the prominent writer Joan split. Bernard is a selfish, cheap and jealous decadent writer that rationalizes every attitude in his family and life and does not accept "phil …istines" - people that do not read books or watch movies, while the unfaithful Joan is growing as a writer and has no problems with "philistines". Their sons, the teenager Walt and the boy Frank, feel the separation and take side: Walt stays with Bernard, and Frank with Joan, and both are affected with abnormal behaviors. Frank drinks booze and smears with sperm the books in the library and a locker in the dress room of his school. The messed-up and insecure Walt uses Roger Water's song "Hey You" in a festival as if it was of his own, and breaks up with his girlfriend Sophie. Meanwhile Joan has an affair with Frank's tennis teacher Ivan and Bernard with his student Lili. (Read More)
Themes: | moneyfriendship |
Mood: | high school |
Locations: | schoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlgirlteacherboysingerfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | celebrationclasseatingclassroombathroomcafebedtearsbookletterwatching tvfoodsongcryingtelephone call …singing (See All) |
Based on J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, tells the story of a boy, James Graham, whose privileged life is upturned by the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, December 8, 1941. Separated from his parents, he is eventually captured, and taken to Soo Chow confinement camp, next to a captured Chinese … airfield. Amidst the sickness and food shortages in the camp, Jim attempts to reconstruct his former life, all the while bringing spirit and dignity to those around him. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | dyingtheftfriendship |
Locations: | truckbicycle |
Characters: | chinesethiefteacherboysingerfriendmother son relationship |
Story: | street marketpeasanthungerstealingsleepingpursuitflowersbathtearsfoodsongcryingbased on true storychasesinging …fight (See All) |
In Bedridge, Professor Parker Wilson finds an abandoned dog at the train station and takes it home with the intention of returning the animal to its owner. He finds that the dog is an Akita and names it Hachiko. However, nobody claims the dog so his family decides to keep Hachi.
Themes: | friendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | schooltrain |
Characters: | girlteacherboyfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | postersleepingclassflowersbathmontagenewspaperclassroombedtearswatching tvcryingtelephone callbased on true story |
THE READER opens in post-war Germany when teenager Michael Berg becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna, a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna love …s being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Hanna is enthralled as Michael reads to her from "The Odyssey," "Huck Finn" and "The Lady with the Little Dog." Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life - this time as a defendant in the courtroom. As Hanna's past is revealed, Michael uncovers a deep secret that will impact both of their lives. THE READER is a story about truth and reconciliation, about how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | writingdyingillnessmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | bicycleschooltrainrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlteacherfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | classmateclassflowerseatingclassroomcafebedtearsbookletterfoodcryingtelephone call |
This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in modern day East Village New York. The story centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a former tragedy has made Roger numb to life, Mark tries to capture it through his attempts to make a film. In … the year that follows, the group deals with love, loss, AIDS, and modern day life in one truly powerful story. (Read More)
Themes: | dyingpovertytheftfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicyclerestaurant |
Characters: | thiefteachersingerfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | beggingbeggarhungerpromisecelebrationteaflowerseatingmontagecafetearsfoodsongcryingtelephone call …singingfight (See All) |
In 1937 China, during the second Sino-Japanese war, a mortician, John ('Christian Bale' (qv)) arrives at a Catholic church in Nanjing to prepare a priest for burial. Upon arrival he finds himself the lone adult among a group of convent girl students and prostitutes from a nearby brothel. When he fin …ds himself in the unwanted position of protector of both groups from the horrors of the invading Japanese army, he discovers the meaning of sacrifice and honor. (Read More)
Themes: | dyingmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckvillagebicycle |
Characters: | teenage girlchinesegirlsingerfather daughter relationship |
Story: | kittenclassmatepromisecelebrationteapursuitflowersbathroomrunningtearsurinationfoodsongcryingbased on true story …chasesinging (See All) |
Early summer. In a village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are walking home from school, playing innocently with some boys. The immorality of their play sets off a scandal that has unexpected consequences. The family home is progressively transformed into a prison; instruction in homem …aking replaces school and marriages start being arranged. The five sisters who share a common passion for freedom, find ways of getting around the constraints imposed on them. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | money |
Locations: | truckvillagebusschool |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlgirlteachersingermother son relationship |
Story: | hitchhikingteasleepingpursuiteatingrunningbookwatching tvfoodsongcryingtelephone callchasesinging |
In Harlem, 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones - who goes by her middle name Precious - is an illiterate, overweight black girl. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see oth …erwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain, Precious begins to believe that she can have a future by learning how to read and write. Despite some devastating news from her mother following the birth of her child, Precious also begins to believe she can escape the grips of her abusive mother, who, up to this point, was Precious' only real support. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | writingeducationmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | busschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipteenage girlgirlteacherchildrenmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | learningclassmatemontagetelevisionbathroombedwatching tvfoodsongcryingsinging |
When a single mother and her six-year-old daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop - with Sunday hours - across the street from the local church, they are met with some skepticism. But as soon as they coax the townspeople into enjoying their delicious products, they are warmly welcome …d. (Read More)
Themes: | theftfriendship |
Locations: | rural settingvillagebicycleschool |
Characters: | mayorthiefgirlboyfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | stealingclassflowerseatingmontageclassroomcafetearsletterfoodcryingfight |
T.J., a high school freshman, lost his mother two months before in a car accident: his father pops pills and sits on the couch; his grandmother holds things together, chatting and cooking. T.J. wants the car back from the salvage yard where the owner's son is a bully. By happenstance, Hesher, a foul …-mouthed squatter, moves in with T.J's family. T.J. also meets Nicole, a grocery clerk near poverty who helps him once. Hesher involves T.J. in crime, the bully is omnipresent, mom's car is slipping away, dad has checked out, T.J. watches Nicole at work, and his grandma invites him to join her morning walk: the odds are long that T.J. can assemble a family to help him thrive. (Read More)
Themes: | povertymoneyfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | bicycleschool |
Characters: | teachersingerfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | following someonesleepingclasspursuitflowersbatheatingclassroomrunningtearswatching tvurinationfoodsongcrying …telephone callchasesingingfight (See All) |
Julieta (Emma Suarez) is a middle-aged woman living in Madrid with her boyfriend Lorenzo. Both are going to move to Portugal when she casually runs into Bea, former best friend of her daughter Antia, who reveals that this one is living in Switzerland married and with three children. With the heart b …roken after 12 years of total absence of her daughter, Julieta cancels the journey to Portugal and she moves to her former building, in the hope that Antia someday communicates with her sending a letter. Alone with her thoughts, Julieta starts to write her memories to confront the pain of the events happened when she was a teenager (Adriana Ugarte) and met Xoan, a Galician fisherman. Falling in love with him, Julieta divides her time between the family, the job and the education of Antia until a fatal accident changes their lives. Slowly decaying in a depression, Julieta is helped by Antia and Bea, but one day Antia goes missing suddenly after a vacation with no clues about where to find her, leaving Julieta desperate to understand the reasons of her missing... (Read More)
Themes: | hopeeducationillnessfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | bustrain |
Characters: | teenage girlgirlteacherchildrenfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationship |
Story: | substitute teacherpromisefollowing someoneteaclassflowerssearcheatingmountainclassroombookletterwatching tvfoodtelephone call |
Kanji Watanabe is a civil servant. He has worked in the same department for 30 years. His life is pretty boring and monotonous, though he once used to have passion and drive. Then one day he discovers that he has stomach cancer and has less than a year to live. After the initial depression he sets a …bout living for the first time in over 20 years. Then he realises that his limited time left is not just for living life to the full but to leave something meaningful behind... (Read More)
Themes: | dyingillnessmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckbicyclebustrainrestaurant |
Characters: | aunt nephew relationshipboysingerchildrenmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | sleepingsadnesssearcheatingnewspapercafetearsfoodsongcryingtelephone callsinging |
A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's …use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it. (Read More)
Themes: | povertyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | thiefteacherboychildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | chalkloudspeakermegaphonecoca colastreet marketbeggardonkeyposterpromisesearchmountainclassroomcaferunningtears …cryingtelephone callbased on true storychasefight (See All) |
This love story has Kitty meeting young, intelligent, shy and somewhat dull Dr. Walter Fane, whose forte is the study of infectious diseases, and the convenient marriage that she finds herself committed to. It is in this web of intrigue that they head for China, only after Walter discovers Kitty's i …nfidelity with one dashing and witty diplomat Charlie Townsend. So much as to hide her from herself and to help thwart a cholera outbreak, this is a marriage more than on the rocks. This is a cold, indifferent and loveless partnership in a vast unknown and deadly environment that will test both these flightless lovebirds and with the hardships and tolerances more than any had ever anticipated. A visual delight amid the pain and suffering of a dying people and failing marriage. Will a cure be found for both, before it's too late? (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | dyingmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | villagerestaurant |
Characters: | chineseteacherboysingerchildrenmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | flowerseatingmountainclassroomcaferunningtearsbookletterfoodsongcryingtelephone callchasesinging |
Uxbal, single father of two children, finds his life in chaos as he is forced to deal with his life in order to escape the heat of crime in underground Barcelona, to break with the love for the divorced, manic depressive, abusive mother of his children and to regain spiritual insight in his life as …he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. (Read More)
Themes: | dyingillnessmoney |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | schoolrestaurant |
Characters: | chinesegirlboychildrenmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | bed wettingpursuitflowerseatingmontagebathroomcaferunningtearswatching tvurinationfoodcryingtelephone callchase …singingfight (See All) |
Mia, an aggressive fifteen-year-old girl, lives on an Essex estate with her tarty mother, Joanne, and precocious little sister Tyler. She has been thrown out of school and is awaiting admission to a referrals unit and spends her days aimlessly. She begins an uneasy friendship with Joanne's slick boy …friend, Connor, who encourages her one interest, dancing. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | theftmoneyfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | urban settingschooltrain |
Characters: | teenage girlthiefgirlchildrenmother daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | brickposterstealingsleepingtelevisionrunningtearswatching tvurinationcryingtelephone callsingingfight |
Vincent is an old Vietnam vet whose stubbornly hedonistic ways have left him without money or a future. Things change when his new next-door neighbor's son, Oliver, needs a babysitter and Vince is willing enough for a fee. From that self-serving act, an unexpected friendship forms as Vincent and Oli …ver find so much of each other's needs through each other. As Vincent mentors Oliver in street survival and other worldly ways, Oliver begins to see more in the old man than just his foibles. When life takes a turn for the worse for Vincent, both them find the best in each other than no one around them suspects. (Read More)
Subgenre: | coming of age |
Themes: | dyingtheftmoneyfriendship |
Locations: | bicyclebusschool |
Characters: | teacherboyfriendmother son relationship |
Story: | sleepingclasssadnesseatingmontagenewspaperclassroomrunningtearsbookwatching tvurinationfoodcryingtelephone call …fight (See All) |
Young Bruno lives a wealthy lifestyle in prewar Germany along with his mother, elder sister, and SS Commandant father. The family relocates to the countryside where his father is assigned to take command a prison camp. A few days later, Bruno befriends another youth, strangely dressed in striped paj …amas, named Shmuel who lives behind an electrified fence. Bruno will soon find out that he is not permitted to befriend his new friend as he is a Jew, and that the neighboring yard is actually a prison camp for Jews awaiting extermination. (Read More)
Themes: | illnessfriendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | bicycletrain |
Characters: | girlboysingerchildrenfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | lost childsearcheatingnewspaperrunningtearsbookfoodsongcryingtelephone callsinging |
In the 70's in Afghanistan, the Pushtun boy Amir and the Hazara boy Hassan, who is his loyal friend and son of their Hazara servant Ali, are raised together in Amir's father house, playing and kiting on the streets of a peaceful Kabul. Amir feels that his wise and good father Baba blames him for the … death of his mother in the delivery, and also that his father loves and prefers Hassan to him. In return, Amir feels a great respect for his father's best friend Rahim Khan, who supports his intention to become a writer. After Amir winning a competition of kiting, Hassan runs to bring a kite to Amir, but he is beaten and raped by the brutal Assef in an empty street to protect Amir's kite; the coward Amir witness the assault but does not help the loyal Hassam. On the day after his birthday party, Amir hides his new watch in Hassam's bed to frame the boy as a thief and force his father to fire Ali, releasing his conscience from recalling his cowardice and betrayal. In 1979, the Russians invade Afghanistan and Baba and Amir escape to Pakistan. In 1988, they have a simple life in Fremont, California, when Amir graduates in a public college for the pride and joy of Baba. Later Amir meets his countrywoman Soraya and they get married. In 2000, after the death of Baba, Amir is a famous novelist and receives a phone call from the terminal Rahim Khan, who discloses secrets about his family, forcing Amir to return to Peshawar, in Pakistan, in a journey of redemption. (Read More)
Themes: | dyinghopeillnesstheftmoneyfriendship |
Characters: | aunt nephew relationshipthiefboysingerchildrenfriendfather daughter relationshipmother daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | street marketteapursuitflowerssearchmountainbathroombedrunningtearsbookletterfoodsongcrying …telephone callchasesinging (See All) |
The story of a charismatic young Irish guitarist and a sheltered young cellist who have a chance encounter one magical night above New York's Washington Square, but are soon torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August Rush, orphaned by circumstance. Now performing on the streets of New York …and cared for by a mysterious stranger, August uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth. (Read More)
Themes: | friendship |
Mood: | rain |
Locations: | truckschoolrestaurant |
Characters: | girlboysingerfriendfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | classpursuitflowerssearcheatingcafetearsfoodsongcryingtelephone callchasesingingfight |
Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable moth …er Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary's teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well. (Read More)
Themes: | moneyfriendship |
Locations: | schoolrestaurant |
Characters: | girlteacherboysingerfriendmother daughter relationshipfather daughter relationshipmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | primary schoolmathematicspromisesleepingclasssadnessmontageclassroomrunningletterwatching tvsongsingingfight |
In a 1950's mining town called Coalwood, Homer Hickam is a kid with only one future in sight, to work in the local coal mine like his father. However in October 1957, everything changes when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik goes into orbit. With that event, Homer becomes inspired to learn how … to build rockets. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that by trial and a lot of error. Unfortunately, most of the town and especially Homer's father thinks that they are wasting their time. Only one teacher in the high school understands their efforts and lets them know that they could become contenders in the national science fair with college scholarships being the prize. Now the gang must learn to perfect their craft and overcome the many problems facing them as they shoot for the stars. (Read More)
Themes: | hopetheftfriendship |
Mood: | high schoolrain |
Locations: | busschooltrain |
Characters: | teacher student relationshipchinesethiefteacherfriendmother son relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | mathematicsclassclassroomtearswatching tvcryingbased on true story |