The five most nostalgic and moving films about kids

Celine Sciamma’s Petite Maman- premiered at Berlin Film Festival this year.

The exciting upcoming release of Celine Sciamma’s Petite Maman, screening at the London Film Festival this October, is due to be a beautiful tale of memory, friendship, mother-daughter bonds and the wild imagination of children. It has prompted me to look back over some of my favourite films about pre-adolescent youth. Despite most of the popular coming-of-age tales focusing on turbulent teenage years, films that focus on a younger age group are often just as beautiful, poignant and swimming in nostalgia.

1. Au Revoir Les Enfants

Cert. 12

This stunning French picture by Louis Malle follows two young boys of twelve, Julien (Gaspard Manesse) and Jean (Raphaël Fejtö), living in a rural Roman Catholic Boarding school during the second world war under German occupation. One of my favourite films, it is an utterly beautiful depiction of the coming of age of young boys amongst the devastating backdrop of war. One of the foundations of the film is how naturally Malle evokes the daily life of the boarding school, the tumbling, clumsy heedless energy of schoolboys. The friendship between Julien and Jean is so believable and endearing: such an accurate portrayal of friendships at that age. We never see any more than the boys do and thus there is no direct violence in the film, but a tragic undercurrent of Nazi terror continues throughout, leading up to the devastating close. Based on the director's own memories, the very fabric of the film feels real and tangible, as if we are stepping into the experiences of the director. It is a devastating yet beautiful gem of a film, and completely deserves its spot on Ronald Bergan’s list of the ‘Top 100 films of all time’.

2. Stand by Me

Cert. 15

Rob Reiner’s tale of five friends on their journey along the tracks has marked itself in the memories of many viewers as a classic American coming of age film: life affirming, comedic, authentic and tinged with melancholy. The 1980s story set in ‘50s America features a very young River Phoenix in an iconic performance.

The film takes place at a juncture with which everyone is intimately familiar, where the last days of childhood innocence start to give way to the terrible truths of the grown-up world. It uses the classic narrative, following a gang of four young boys who hear that the corpse of a local boy is lying outside town; they decide they’ll be local heroes if they can recover it. But the most affecting perils aren’t in death - they’re in life, and the twists and turns of their journey. The cinematography is beautiful, framing the young boys heading out under the glowing summer light, which seems to radiate out of the screen, into the luscious depth of the rural American countryside. Stand By Me is a funny and wistful film, with a haunting ending.

3. Tomboy

Cert. U

Celine Sciamma has become known in recent years for her beautifully shot portraits of the female experience, from her examination of the female gaze in her most recent feature Portrait of a Lady on Fire, to Girlhood. Tomboy is just as remarkable. I remember watching it this year and being reminded of just what it was like to be that age. It captures a time when everything seems so big and bright and overwhelming, yet also awe-inspiring. The stressful confusion of trying to fit in with those around you, while coming to terms with who you are.

The film follows a young girl of 10, at that pre-adolescent age when many children seem suspended between genders. She has moved with her father, her little sister and her pregnant mother into a new neighbourhood where they know nobody. As she hangs on the edge of a small group of kids about her age, a friendly girl named Lisa soon asks for her name — using the French pronoun it is suggested that she expects to hear a male name. "Mikael," says the newcomer. In a second, she has become a boy and will be one all summer. It perfectly presents a young person struggling to find their identity, demonstrating, as stated by Sciamma: “how the adult world defines you when you are a child“. Warm and moving, it is well worth the watch.

4. The 400 Blows

Cert. PG

This renowned French new wave film, directed by Truffaut, paved the way for hundreds of coming of age films over the following decades. The famous final shot - a zoom into a freeze frame in front of the ocean, showing the protagonist Antione looking directly into the camera (caught between land and water - past and future) - has been recreated again and again, in the likes of Barry Jenkins’ Oscar winning picture Moonlight, and the 1986 social realist piece This Is England. Inspired by Truffaut's own early life, the film shows a resourceful boy growing up in Paris and throwing himself headlong into a life of crime. Adults see him as a troublemaker and his parents punish him, but we are allowed to share some of the more emotive, private moments, as when he lights a candle before a little shrine to Balzac in his bedroom.

5. Summer 1993

Cert. 12

Summer 1993 is a subtle, rich and warm film that portrays the emotional turmoil of childhood. An impressive debut feature from director Carla Simon, it follows a six year old girl, Frida (Laia Artigas), who is moved from Barcelona to her uncle’s, Esteve's (David Verdaguer), farm in the pastoral greenery of rural Catalonia after her mother dies of aids. Esteve lives with his wife Marga,, and their infant daughter Anna, whom Frida must adopt as a younger sister. As her environment shifts she struggles to adjust to her new family and life in the countryside: too young to comprehend the enormity of this change or truly come to terms with her grief. The result is a poignant tale of grief, family and growing up. Frida is faced by the uncertainty that surrounds her, with painful HIV tests proving inconclusive, leaving those around her to recoil in fear. In one heartbreaking scene she falls and grazes her knee, and is met by parents rushing to scoop their kids away from her, fuelled by the hysteria surrounding aids.

The film balances this with warmth, buoyed up by the immense child performances. The child actors are so young that they almost don’t act, but play off the impulse and rawness of their emotions. The bright, luscious beauty of  the Catalan countryside is on full display, against the grating reality that Frida must grapple with. Like Tomboy, its performances and grading feel as if we are stepping into childhood ourselves. It is also an autobiographical tale, lending it that nostalgic quality, like Au Revoir Les Enfants.