5 BEST MOVIES FOR TEENS ON NETFLIX
Whether you are a teenager or have already passed that stage of life for several years, films for teenagers still remain one of the best forms of entertainment that can be found on the Netflix platform. The streaming giant offers a vast selection of content specifically designed for young audiences, but also for those who remember well what it means to be young. These are titles set in high school, which talk about first loves, bitter disappointments but also deep friendships, the kind we end up carrying with us (at least in our hearts) throughout our lives. From this infinite range of possibilities, we have selected five films, perfect to keep you company during your next evening of sofa and popcorn. So here are what, in our opinion, are the best films for teenagers to watch on Netflix.
1) All the times I wrote I love you (2018)
Let's start our article with what, in reality, is the first film of a saga composed of three titles and based on the literary trilogy written by the American author of Korean origins Jenny Han. To All the Times I Loved You (2018) stars Lara Jean Song Covey (Lana Condor), a shy and romantic high school student who keeps a secret diary in which she keeps letters written to the boys of who she was in love with. The letters, never sent and always jealously guarded by the girl, one day mysteriously end up in the hands of the recipients, including her best childhood friend and sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh, and Peter (Noah Centineo ), her first crush and the most popular boy in school. Lara Jean will thus end up finding herself in a series of embarrassing situations, especially when Peter asks her to pretend to be engaged to make her respective love interests jealous.
To All the Times I Loved You is a film that celebrates the importance of friendship and love, while offering an authentic representation of the period of adolescence and addressing issues such as achieving independence, self-awareness and personal growth. The following titles in the saga - P. S. I Still Love You (2020) and Yours Forever (2021) - continue the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter through new important stages for the two protagonists like senior year, prom and college choice.
2) Three meters above the sky (2004)
Probably, before their love story was revived by Netflix, they Today's teenagers didn't even know who Step and Babi were. With its publication on the platform, however, the film that marked a generation - and, above all, which launched the actor Riccardo Scamarcio - has also begun to make inroads into the hearts of very young people, demonstrating that, in Basically, he did his first twenties quite well. Directed by Luca Lucini and based on the novel of the same name by Federico Moccia, the film follows the complex and often conflictual relationship between Babi (Katy Saunders), a girl from a good family who attends a private school in Rome, and Step (Scamarcio), a young rebel who spends his days racing clandestine motorbikes and pranks with his lifelong friend, Pollo.
Despite belonging to two completely different realities, the two will end up falling madly in love, but will have to deal with the expectations of society and their respective families. A recommended viewing for those eager to embark on an emotional journey through the joys and difficulties of first love, made even more engaging by the chemistry of its protagonists and an unforgettable soundtrack, a unique testimony to the early 2000s.
3) Yours, Simon (2018)
If you are looking for a title that addresses the theme of universal love and self-acceptance with a particularly fresh and touching perspective, Yours, Simon is definitely for you. Directed by Greg Berlanti and film adaptation of the novel I Don't Know Who You Are, But I'm Here, the film follows the vicissitudes of Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), a teenager apparently like many others but who hides his orientation sexually to family and friends. However, his life will take an unexpected turn when he begins to correspond anonymously with another gay boy from his school, finding in him a safe haven to freely express his thoughts and emotions, without the fear of judgement.
What makes Yours, Simon so significant are its realistic and well-developed protagonists, and the ways in which the film explores the sense of isolation and fear that many LGBTQ+ teenagers experience on their journey to acceptance of itself, while remaining a story full of hope and courage.
4) Little Women (2019)
Seventh film adaptation of the famous novel by Louisa May Alcott directed by director of the year Greta Gerwig, Little Women follows the lives of the March sisters, four young women with different characters and aspirations yet incredibly united, during and after the period of the American Civil War. The plot unfolds through flashbacks and time jumps, offering an intimate and engaging look at family dynamics and the challenges faced by the protagonists as they try to realize their dreams in an era dominated by rigid social conventions.
Gerwig brilliantly manages to capture the essence of the original novel, maintaining its historical setting and spirit while she adds new perspectives and nuances to the characters' stories. Furthermore, the film can count on the masterful performances of an exceptional cast, made up of Saoirse Ronan (Jo), Emma Watson (Meg), Florence Pugh (Amy) and Eliza Scanlen (Beth) as the close-knit sisters, Laura Dern as their mother Marmee, Meryl Streep as Aunt March and <67 >Timothée Chalamet as Laurie.
5) Fear Street: Part 1, 2 and 3 (2021)
Let's completely change genre and conclude our article on the best films for teenagers on Netflix with another saga of three titles, which could still be considered as a single, great film. We are talking about Fear Street, a horror trilogy based on the children's novels by R.L. Stine is set in three different eras, 1994, 1978 and 1666. The films follow a group of young people (among the leading actors there is also Sadie Sink from Stranger Things) who clash with the darkness that hovers over the town of Shadyside, a place haunted by mysteries and horrors linked to a long history of violence and tragedy. Each film focuses on a different generation of characters, trying to unravel the dark secrets of their city and survive the attacks of an ancient and particularly vengeful evil.
With a blend of suspense, action and gore, the three chapters that make up the Fear Street saga offer viewers an exciting journey full of terror and mystery, while not losing sight of the classic themes of the young genre adult, from friendship, to love, from personal growth to the search for a sense of belonging.
by Sofia Biagini of CinemaSerieTV.it for Filmamo