A selection of coming-of-age movies recommended by Sofia Coppola
Coming-of-age stories have become some of the most well-loved movies in modern cinema. John Hughes brought tales of teenagehood to the theatres of the 1980s with future classics like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Amy Heckerling gifted the genre with the endlessly quotable Clueless, and Sofia Coppola is continually proving her place alongside them as one of the greatest filmmakers to foray into the genre.
Coppola’s interest in coming-of-age tales is clear from the very beginning of her filmography. In 1999, she made her feature film debut with The Virgin Suicides. The story of the Lisbon sisters investigated themes that would become integral to Coppola’s style, in particular, the experience of coming of age as a woman. It also set her visual style into motion, deliberately dreamy.
Since then, Coppola has applied the coming-of-age story to historical figure Marie Antoinette in her 2006 film of the same name, followed the glamorous crimes of the Bling Ring teens in 2013, and put Alysia Abbott’s 1970s coming-of-age story to screen in 2023 with Fairyland. Her focus has continually been on the difficulty and discomfort of those pivotal years, particularly for young women.
There are few people more equipped, then, to make coming-of-age movie recommendations than Coppola herself. When the director sat down with Rotten Tomatoes to list five of her favourite films, she included several pictures from the genre, including a 1980s classic from Hughes’ filmography and some slightly more artsy picks.
The first tale of teenagehood to make Coppola’s list was Rumble Fish, a 1983 drama directed by her father, legendary director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola. Though Coppola is more well-known for his epic tales of war and crime, he turned his attention to coming-of-age during the early 1980s, also directing an adaptation of The Outsiders.
True to Coppola’s style, Rumble Fish isn’t your average coming-of-age film. It focuses on teens stuck in lives of crime, but Coppola was particularly enthusiastic about the way the film was shot. “I love that it’s an art film about teenagers,” she divulged, sharing her admiration for the use of softer Zeiss lenses. She also admitted that she has a sentimental connection to the film.
Looking even further back in coming-of-age cinema history, Coppola picked out the Academy Award-winning film The Last Picture Show as one of her favourites. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, it follows the lives of high schoolers in a tiny Texan town. “It’s just a beautiful film,” Coppola surmised.
The most classic coming-of-age film to make Coppola’s list was Hughes’ Sixteen Candles, which starred 1980s teen film icon Molly Ringwald through the awkward, angsty events of her 16th year. Like many of us, it was one of Coppola’s favourite films during her youth and has maintained its place in her heart. “I’ll still watch it every time it’s on,” she divulged.
Between comfy classics and more out-there takes on the genre, Coppola’s coming-of-age recommendations are essential watching for fans of the genre. Find the list below.
Sofia Coppola’s favourite coming-of-age movies:
- The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971)
- Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)
- Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984)
