20 Movies From Our Generation Our Parents Should Watch To Understand Us Better

Generation gap. It eventually comes up in most conversations when kids go past a certain age and engage in dialogue with their parents and can’t reach a consensus. Parents have certain ideas and they can’t subscribe to a new idea which their kids might try to tell them about. Frowns, stinky-eyes and several shouting matches later, we are no closer to a solution. However, what better way to explain our way of functioning than the following movies which capture youth at its most vibrant.

Here are 20 movies that our parents must watch to understand this generation, a little better.

1. Wake Up Sid

Director Ayan Mukerji’s debut film follows the story of the poor little rich boy Sid, a college slacker by all means and how his life changes when he fails his third year college exams. As Sid goes through the grind of ‘real life’ and discovers his passion for photography, this is an ideal coming-of-age tale.

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chobsky’s bestseller turned into a movie with the author taking the director’s chair, the movie is a classic High school tale where a kid with the help of his eccentric group of friends confronts his horrors from the past. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, the movie was a huge hit with its target population and adults alike.

3. Udaan

Vikramaditya Motwane’s stellar debut starring a young Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor followed the story of a kid moving back to a house with his emotionally-distant father. And how he confronts the physical abuse and stands up to his father, forms the rest of the narrative. Amit Trivedi’s brilliant music was the cherry on top.

4. Juno

Jason Reitman’s hilarious take on teenage pregnancy featuring a patakha performance by Ellen Page, is a neat lesson for those who love to wring the last bit of emotional juice in a movie. It is also a lesson in cool parenting, and how you can make a touching movie without taking yourself too seriously.

5. Queen

Subverting the trope of an abandoned bride into a journey of self-discovery, Vikas Bahl’s first movie won the hearts of the audience and the critics alike. Starring an all-in performance by Kangana Ranaut and winning soundtrack by Amit Trivedi, the movie was a beautiful lesson for Indian parents when it came to bringing up girl children.

6. Dil Chahta Hai

The ultimate youth movie for kids from the ’90s, the film showed the journey of three friends fresh out of college and how their friendship changes in the subsequent years, even as they grow because of certain circumstances in their own lives. Director Farhan Akhtar’s debut feature film connected with an entire generation and nothing will replicate that.

7. Goodwill Hunting

A young boy’s journey from acknowledging his own genius to coming to terms with the abuse he had to go through at the hands of his foster-father, the movie sensitively handled prodigious talent and the curse of it. Starring top-notch performances from Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgard, the movie is a home-run in every respect.

8. Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson’s take on the subject of young love, when two kids elope after discovering romance in each other’s company. The treatment is especially eccentric like the director’s other works, but the film’s beating heart turn out to be the girl’s parents Bill Murray and Frances McDormand who rediscover the spark in their marriage while pursuing their daughter.

9. Lakshya

Farhan Akhtar’s second venture as a director was a more literal coming-of-age tale where an aimless rich kid finds his goal in life atop a mountain peak at the height of 18000 ft. It features a sensitive performance from Boman Irani as the protagonist’s (played by Hrithik Roshan) father.

10. Almost Famous

Cameron Crowe’s stellar followup to his break-out movie Jerry Maguire, where he integrated certain autobiographical elements of working for Rolling Stones magazine. The movie follows a 15-year-old journalist who follows a rock band along with ‘groupies’ and how it becomes one life-changing journey for him.

11. Dazed and Confused

Richard Linklater’s cult movie about a bunch of seniors figuring their life out on the day they’re supposed to graduate to college, is considered one of the best documents on American youth of the late 80s. A time when Aerosmith tickets mattered more than a football scholarship for college, Linklater totally nailed the depiction finding a fan in fellow director Quentin Tarantino too.

12. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Mansoor Khan’s sophomore effort after Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, was found dwelling on the comfort shared between siblings, young love, heartbreak and an inter-school cycle race which served as the redemption device for the protagonist. The film was surprisingly realistic in its portrayal of school life.

13. 3 Idiots

Based on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, the film directed by Raju Hirani took upon the Indian education system and the factory-like environment which produces donkeys as opposed to enriched minds. The film starred an impeccable performance by Aamir Khan who also became the voice of conscience for the film.

14. Accepted

Starring Justin Long and Blake Lively, this movie takes pot-shots at the education system asking pertinent questions about the prestige of an institution, if the joy of learning is lost in the process. Quite frothy in its approach, the lead characters of this movie make a fake college to grant admission to most misfits in society.

15. Into The Wild

Based on the life of Chris McCandless, the film trails the life of a youngster who rejects the trappings of modern society like a career, a marriage and wanders into the wilderness of Alaska. A bit too extremist when it comes to purporting the ideals of a boy becoming a man, the movie by Sean Penn also addresses the troubled relationship of the boy with his parents.

16. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Releasing in the same year as Dead Poet’s Society, this movie starring Matthew Broderick addresses issues like parents micro-managing the life of their children, and the angst of it. Ferris Bueller is a smart kid who fakes an illness to get out of school and has the day of his life with his close friends.

17. Boyhood

Richard Linklater’s epic saga about a boy’s journey through life from the age of 6 till the age of 18 shot in real-time between 2002 to 2013. The film starring Ellar Coltrane, Lorelai Linklater, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke is the perfect movie as it not only shows how the boy grows up, but also how the parents become more sorted in life.

18. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Zoya Akhtar’s second movie even though disguised itself as a bachelor road trip in picturesque locations in Spain, is actually a coming-of-age drama nearing their 30s as they confront demons of their own and find a resolution in each case. The film is literally poetic thanks to the director’s father who is a reputed poet, lyricist and screenwriter.

19. Taare Zameen Par

Directed by Aamir Khan, this film took on the issue of dyslexia which is widely prevalent in the primary student population in India, but hushed up as a matter. With TZP, not only did we get amazing insight into the world of Ishan Awasthi but also saw Ram Shankar Nikumbh spring into action as the saviour of the specially-abled.

20. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Karan Johar’s movie on unrequited love, showed a protagonist broken unlike any other Bollywood leading man. Dismissed as superficial, the movie turned into one of the most intensely debated movies of the year, giving great insight into people who are able to move on from failed relationships and those who are not.