Childhood Nostalgia
The filmmakers featured in this week’s Spotlight turn a nostalgic lens on childhood. Often semi-autobiographical, these films lovingly recreate the bygone times and places of youth. Warm, melancholic, sometimes tragic, these films offer a portal into our pasts.
Summer 1993
(Estiu 1993)
A new family. A new world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2017
- Director Carla Simón
- Cast Laia Artigas, Bruna Cusí, David Verdaguer, Paula Robles, Isabel Rocatti, Montse Sanz
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Plex, Plex Channel
Children of Heaven
(بچههای آسمان)
A brother and sister swap one worn pair of shoes to avoid burdening their already struggling parents.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1997
- Director Majid Majidi
- Cast Reza Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi, Fereshte Sarabandi, Kamal Mirkarimi
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
The Long Day Closes
A lonely young boy copes with bullying and his burgeoning homosexuality by spending time at the movie theater.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1992
- Director Terence Davies
- Cast Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson, Nicholas Lamont, Ayse Owens, Tina Malone
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Only Yesterday
(おもひでぽろぽろ)
Is the life you have now really everything you imagined it to be?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1991
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Iizuka, Masahiro Itou, Chie Kitagawa
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Cinema Paradiso
(Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)
A celebration of youth, friendship, and the everlasting magic of the movies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1988
- Director Giuseppe Tornatore
- Cast Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Agnese Nano, Antonella Attili
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, Epix Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Au Revoir les Enfants
(Au revoir les enfants)
At a Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, West Germany, Italy • 1987
- Director Louis Malle
- Cast Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg, Philippe Morier-Genoud, François Berléand
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
My Life as a Dog
(Mitt liv som hund)
After being sent to live with family in rural Sweden, a young boy finds community and strength amongst the eccentric residents.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden • 1985
- Director Lasse Hallström
- Cast Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman, Kicki Rundgren, Lennart Hjulström
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Fanny & Alexander
(Fanny och Alexander)
In the wake of their father's death, siblings Fanny and Alexander must adjust to their new life and new home.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, France, West Germany • 1982
- Director Ingmar Bergman
- Cast Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin, Allan Edwall, Ewa Fröling, Erland Josephson, Jan Malmsjö
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Amarcord
In an Italian seaside town, Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various eccentrics as they engage in absurd behavior.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1973
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Bruno Zanin, Armando Brancia, Pupella Maggio, Giuseppe Ianigro, Nando Orfei, Stefano Proietti
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Spirit of the Beehive
(El espíritu de la colmena)
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the 7 year-old Ana goes to search for Frankenstein's monster after seeing the film herself.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1973
- Director Víctor Erice
- Cast Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Tellería, Laly Soldevila, Miguel Picazo
- Genre Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel
The 400 Blows
(Les Quatre Cents Coups)
The story of a misunderstood adolescent boy growing up in Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1959
- Director François Truffaut
- Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay, Robert Beauvais
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Pather Panchali
(পথের পাঁচালী)
Together, Apu and his sister, Durga, make do with what they have and enjoy the simple joys of childhood.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 1955
- Director Satyajit Ray
- Cast Subir Banerjee, Uma Das Gupta, Karuna Banerjee, Kanu Bannerjee, Chunibala Devi, Runki Banerjee
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Hoichoi, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel