Stand By Me: ‘One thing we share is the deep bond of childhood friendship’

Although it was set decades before millennials were born, the story and its themes are just as relevant today. We may not all ride our bikes together and hang out in our tree houses, but one thing young people still share is the deep bonds of childhood friendship – and how much this contributes to the adult you grow into. But just as importantly, the film shows how temporary those bonds are. By the end the boys have grown up and grown apart. I wonder, even if they had access to social media, would that bond have stayed strong? This was the movie that prepared me for the reality of what my social life was going to be when I grew up. Callum Brown, 23, Aberdeen

Lady Bird: ‘Carries a little part of every teenage girl’

It’s brutally honest and yet retains an element of romanticism in a nostalgic way. What I particularly love, and what made it so relatable, was how Lady Bird carries a little part of every teenage girl, whatever demographic, lifestyle or ideology. Her close, respectful view of her mother, despite the clashes, felt really real for me, and she can still be rebellious in other ways. Also, it places a value on female relationships and the way that the “first love” boyfriends are so irrelevant in the end, but still contribute to her development as a person. Livvy, 18, Folkestone

So many 80s movies were very much a boy’s perspective of growing up, as they were pretty much all made by male film makers. This is one of the first films I remember seeing that tells things from a female perspective and was so relatable to me and many other women for that. It wasn’t perfect (although Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf were!) but the eye of the film maker being female was notable, especially in the way the mother-daughter bond was shown. cate5365

American Graffiti: ‘One hectic, hot night in southern California’

“Where were you in ‘62?” was its tagline. It’s got it all: great cars, a great soundtrack (pre-dating Tarantino’s style of mixing cool music to mood) and some slapstick moments. But most of all, the lead characters grow up and learn much about themselves over one hectic, hot night in southern California. It was shot in 1973, in and around Petaluma, based very much on director George Lucas’ teenage experiences with cars and girls (he’s said he identifies most with the nerdish Terry ‘The Toad’ character). A standout scene is at the end, when Kurt (Richard Dreyfuss) looks down from the plane that’s taking him to college and the next era of his life, and spots the white ‘56 T’bird he’s been stalking all night. Paul Hardiman, 54, Oxfordshire

The Breakfast Club: ‘Breaks down cliches to give all its lead characters depth’

While other coming of age films tend to stick with the stereotypical high school characters (the “queen bitch”, the dumb creepy jock, the weedy nerd, the ugly duckling who becomes a beautiful swan – even if ironically) this is the only one that (to me) successfully breaks these down to give all its lead characters depth, and a backstory. I watched it during my first year of exams, and felt impacted by the material as it presented characters I could relate to (especially Anthony Michael Hall’s character, who was struggling with academic pressure from his parents). It also presented a different view from other films, breaking down social-barriers and showing empathy crossing the social hierarchy of school, which I felt was actually very realistic. Ben Ramsay, 16, Dundee

I revisited The Breakfast Club at a retro screening recently and I have to say it takes the cake for me. It’s basically a dialogue piece between five teenagers in one room but still holds attention. Judd Nelson was the charisma that held the film together and his anger and fear blaze throughout. But Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald get their turns as these self absorbed kids come to the realisation that they all have pressures and fears that they can relate to. I acknowledge some of the film is no longer acceptable to modern audiences, but let’s not pretend kids didn’t think, talk and act this way. mathalvorson

Mean Girls, The Craft, Legally Blonde: ‘They show how friendship can change’

Me and my 16-year-old daughter laugh out loud at the school insights behind Mean Girls. Our other (perhaps a little odd) favourite is The Craft, which although based on the girls developing magical powers, shows how friendship can change, how your own desires (for love, for money, for beauty) can damage others, and how some friends are not always your friends. Great ending too.

The other one we’ve watched a few times is Legally Blonde. I asked my daughter why she liked it so much and she said it’s because the women all back each other up at the end. We also like that the girl turns out (a lot) cleverer than the men in the film, and the message that you shouldn’t ever judge a person’s intelligence on their looks. Jacquel

If...: ‘Why is it assumed the right way to come of age is through American rites of passage?’

It’s often assumed that the coming of age genre is unique to or owned by the US – but what about the British film, If....? How many of the things mentioned in many of the films in this series (for example proms, with or without buckets of blood) are actually experienced in the UK? Granted, this is hardly a naturalistic depiction of British school life generally, or boarding school in particular (though some “inspired” pupils at a boarding school did stage an occupation and rooftop protest at the time). There’s a difficult school shooting scene that was recognised as such before these types of events became commonplace in the real world, and at least one critic at the time did refer to the ending as “fascistic”. But why must it be assumed that the right way to come of age is through the American rite of passage of the prom etc? comebackcpscott

Rosetta: ‘It seems like nobody in the UK but me saw it’

This is a Belgian film about working class reality, not romanticised Hollywood trash about the angst of poor little middle class waifs.

It won at Cannes, and David Cronenberg cast his legend in marble by heading the jury that gave it its laurel. Grinding poverty, an alienated teenage girl, struggle, the search for dignity, the dream of something better, the fingernail grip on the cusp of the abyss. And then, gradually, light appears – redemption is possible, there is hope and in a triumphant ending there is the promise of happiness. It seems like nobody in the UK but me saw it, but it enriched my life like all great art does. Chris Icarus