Mental well-being of adolescents and young adults in film
Films I use for my master thesis on the destigmatisation and humanisation of the mental health of adolescents and young adults through the medium of cinema.
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- DirectorStephen ChboskyStarsLogan LermanEmma WatsonEzra MillerCharlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.Probably the most empathetic and insightful story that follows the emotional development of a young main character, Charlie (15), as its main theme.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalAntoine Olivier PilonSuzanne ClémentA widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.A brutally honest account of the ups and downs in the life of a young adult (15-16) with mental health challenges trying to navigate his way in society.
- DirectorPhilippe LioretStarsMélanie LaurentKad MeradIsabelle RenauldLili returns from holidays and learns that her twin brother left the house after a violent argument with their father.A very unexpected discovery about a young adult, Lili (18-22), who falls into a mental downward spiral as a result of some unexpected occurrences while growing up.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMia WasikowskaHenry HopperRyô KaseThe story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.Although the film does not diagnose any mental health issues of the two main characters(17-20), this is an incredibly sensitive portrayal of the emotions of young adults in what is arguably the most turbulent phase of their lives.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.Wonderful portrayal of a young adult on the autism spectrum. Carried by an exceptional performance by Claire Danes and a very unique and creative humanization of the autism disorder through artfully crafted section on what it's like to live with this disease.
- DirectorKit ZauharStarsIsabelle BarbierGabrielle RichardsonFraser JonesA girl in her final week of college goes to great lengths to win the affections of a boy from her home town of Philadelphia and ends up having to confront her escalating anxieties about her love life, family and future.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
- DirectorAnaïs Barbeau-LavaletteStarsKelly DepeaultCaroline NéronNormand D'AmourA coming of age story set against the backdrop of a rural Québec town and grunge music's rise.
- DirectorAnna BodenRyan FleckStarsKeir GilchristZach GalifianakisEmma RobertsA clinically-depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
- DirectorZach BraffStarsZach BraffPeter SarsgaardNatalie PortmanA quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.More of a well-being theme than mental health, this film is about a group of young people in their early twenties and leaving high school trying to find their place in the adult world. A film about young adults who feel the urge to talk about their lives full of hurdles, love and work.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsA fiercely independent teenager tries to make her own way in the world while wanting to get out of her hometown of Sacramento, California and to get away from her complicated mother and recently-unemployed father.
- DirectorThor FreudenthalStarsCharlie PlummerAndy GarciaTaylor RussellDiagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to not be defined by his condition.
- DirectorYan EnglandStarsAntoine Olivier PilonSophie NélisseLou-Pascal TremblayTim, a shy 16 years old athlete, is both brilliant and talented. But the pressure he undergoes pushes him to the edge, where human limits reach the point of no return.Despite some screenwriting flaws and over-dramatization, the film shows in a very good and honest way what it is like to be socially left out at a young age and to live with not conforming to the heteronormative ideas of our society and to try to cope with it.
- DirectorJoachim TrierStarsJesse EisenbergGabriel ByrneIsabelle HuppertThe fractious family of a father and his two sons confront their different feelings and memories of their deceased wife and mother, a famed war photographer.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
- DirectorJessica SharzerStarsKristen StewartElizabeth PerkinsRichard HagermanA teenager is traumatized into silence after a disastrous summer party.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonFrantz TurnerJohn Gallagher Jr.A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJosh HartnettJames WoodsA group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsMiles TellerShailene WoodleyKyle ChandlerA hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."
- DirectorPetter NæssStarsJosh HartnettRadha MitchellGary ColeA love story between two savants with Asperger's syndrome, a kind of autism, whose conditions sabotage their budding relationship.
- DirectorRob BurnettStarsCraig RobertsPaul RuddSelena GomezA man suffering a family loss enrolls in a class about care-giving that changes his perspective on life.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsThomas MannRJ CylerOlivia CookeHigh schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
- DirectorInon ShampanierStarsLili TaylorStefania LaVie OwenPeyton ListA bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness.
- DirectorPascal PlanteStarsAnthony TherrienRose-Marie PerreaultLysandre NadeauTheo spends his 18th birthday alone, getting drunk at a punk rock show. There, he meets Mag, a teenage girl who invites him to spend the night at her place...A wonderful simple film that shows that no summer is infinite and that every adventure, no matter how wonderful, has an end. Not a direct representation of the course of a mental illness, but a beautiful portrait of the various possibilities of 'just being' in young adulthood.
