15 best movies about school

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Some will give warm memories, while others will make you rejoice that the school days are behind.

1. Let's live until Monday

• USSR, 1968.
• Drama.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• KinoPoisk: 8, 1.

In the center of the plot is the talented teacher Ilya Semyonovich Melnikov (Vyacheslav Tikhonov), who is experiencing an internal conflict. The teacher is deeply hurt by the imperfection of the Soviet education system, which is trying to unify students.

The film directed by Stanislav Rostotsky and written by the playwright Georgy Polonsky has long been recognized as the gold standard for a poignant and truthful movie about school. This story, brilliant in its simplicity, has not lost its relevance.

2. Miss Jean Brodie's heyday

• Great Britain, 1969.
• Comedy, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Before donning the mantle of Minerva McGonagall, Maggie Smith won an Oscar for her role as another charming teacher, Jean Brodie. A teacher with informal education methods enjoys the boundless trust of her wards - students of a private boarding school in Edinburgh. But later it turns out that Miss Brodie is not the best role model.

In a sense, the satirical melodrama "The Blossom of Miss Jean Brodie", based on the novel of the same name by Muriel Sarah Spark, is "Until Monday," in reverse. The central theme of the film is teaching responsibility for fragile minds. While Ilya Semyonovich encouraged individuality in his students, his antipode - the equally bright and talented Jean Brody - skillfully manipulates his students in order to impose his own opinion on them.

3. Carrie

• USA, 1976.
• Mysticism, horror, drama, psychological thriller.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), an extraordinary girl with the ability to telekinesis, suffers from the bullying of cruel classmates. In her own home, she also has a hard time. The heroine's mother - an obsessed religious fanatic - blames her daughter for all mortal sins. After a particularly painful public humiliation, Carrie's supernatural powers break out to take revenge on anyone who offended the girl.

The film by Brian De Palma became the first film adaptation of the works of the horror king Stephen King. The scene in which Carrie is doused with pig's blood has become a cult and was parodied many times.

Despite belonging to the horror genre, the film will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the psychological mechanisms of bullying.

4. Scarecrow

• USSR, 1983.
• Drama.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7; KinoPoisk: 7, 9.

Sixth-grader Lena Bessoltseva (Christina Orbakaite) moves to live with her grandfather Nikolai Nikolaevich (Yuri Nikulin), who is not particularly fond of in his native provincial town for his unsociable character. New classmates first give the soft-hearted and meek girl the nickname Scarecrow, and then they even declare a brutal boycott for an offense that she did not commit.

The cult film by Rolan Bykov is based on the story of the same name by Vladimir Zheleznikov, the plot of which was suggested to the author by life itself. A similar story happened with the writer's granddaughter, who took on the blame of others, similarly to the heroine of "Scarecrow".

The candid film, which raises the important topic of cruelty and forgiveness, was not liked by everyone at one time. In the process of working on the picture, the artistic council of the State Film Agency was constantly looking for an excuse to ban filming: is there really bullying in a Soviet school?

Many admired Rolan Bykov's bold approach, and after the session the audience came out in tears. However, there were also those who scolded the director for allegedly disgracing Soviet children.

5. Club "Breakfast"

• USA, 1985.
• Comedy-drama, teenage drama.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Five students at fault should spend a day off at school writing an essay on the topic "Who do you think you are."Teenagers would never be friends under normal circumstances, but they bond through punishment.

The Breakfast Club is the second installment of the School Trilogy directed and written by John Hughes. It also includes the films Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller Takes A Day Off. All three films were recognized as the standard of youth cinema and became almost the manifesto of a whole generation of American teenagers.

An attentive viewer will surely discern a much deeper story about growing up and choosing behind the simple plot of the Breakfast Club.

6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

• USA, 1986.
• Youth comedy.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Instead of passing the final exams, the charming Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) goes all out and goes to Chicago with his best friends. And Bueller's sister, a sneak and a bore, sleeps and sees how to substitute her beloved brother, who always gets away with everything.

John Hughes again managed to show the life of adolescents with the utmost honesty and without the indulgence inherent in adults. And young Matthew Broderick won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

7. Deadly attraction

• USA, 1989.
• Comedy, crime film, drama.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The film takes place in the fictional Westerberg High School, run by Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk) and Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty). Excellent student Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) does not like the injustice and cruelty of these girls. One day she shares her experiences with a new acquaintance - the bad guy Jason Dean (Christian Slater). He offers a radical way to combat tyranny.

Michael Lehmann's debut film flopped at the box office, but later became a cult classic. Now "Lethal Attraction" is considered one of the best films about high school students.

8. Rushmore Academy

• USA, 1998.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Wes Anderson's second feature film focuses on the life of a teenager named Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman). The main character is the real king of extracurricular activities, and he has almost no time to study. Now, under the threat of expulsion, Max urgently needs to improve his academic performance. The hero's love for the pretty widowed teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) also adds to the drama of the situation. And Max stands in the way of a competitor - industrialist Herman Blum (Bill Murray).

The role of eccentric Max Fischer is the debut of Jason Schwartzman, who later became a regular guest in Anderson's films.

9. Society of Dead Poets

• USA, 1989.
• Drama.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

A new language teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) appears at the conservative American academy. He explains to the wards that life is fleeting and there is something else in it besides career and money. Inspired students secretly revive the Dead Poets Society literary club. But for one of them, Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), freethinking threatens with troubles that he does not even know about.

The film has won numerous prestigious awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. An inspirational picture of the importance of being able to think for yourself is considered one of the best examples of school movies. Sometimes the film is studied as part of courses in pedagogy, psychology and cultural studies.

10. High and confused

• USA, 1993.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The film follows the crazy adventures of teenagers on their graduation day. Ahead of them is a party to celebrate the start of their summer holidays. In the meantime, the newly minted graduates are arranging a grand farewell to childhood, full of sex and rock and roll.

The film by director and screenwriter Richard Linklater tells not so much about drugs, as the title might suggest, but rather about the fear of change and adulthood. And for Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey, the film also became a ticket to big cinema.

eleven. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

• USA, UK, 2001.
• Fantasy, adventure, family movie.
• Duration: 152 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Little orphan Harry Potter is nothing more than a burden to his malevolent relatives Petunia and Vernon Dursley. On his eleventh birthday, the boy learns that he is a wizard. Now Harry has to become a student of the Hogwarts school of magic, find friends and enemies and find himself in the center of a maelstrom of events that are somehow connected with the mysterious philosopher's stone.

J. K. Rowling's books, like films based on them, tell not only about magic, but also about love for parents, friends and, of course, school. After all, the romantic image of Hogwarts was created in the image of quite real traditional British boarding houses.

12. Elephant

• USA, 2003.
• Drama.
• Duration: 81 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The plot of the poetic parable by Gus Van Sant is inspired by the tragic events at the American Columbine School. In the form of a non-linear narrative, the viewer sees the stories of the most ordinary schoolchildren who do not know that their lives will soon end.

The director does not pursue the goal of guessing the true motives of the killers. Rather, it encourages you to think about the vicissitudes of a difficult age and death, the approach of which is impossible to predict.

13. School of rock

• USA, 2003.
• Musical comedy.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is an unlucky, albeit talented, guitarist. After being kicked out of his own group, Dewey is left completely without money. The case comes to the rescue. The protagonist answers a phone call addressed to his roommate, a professional replacement teacher.

Dewey, under the name Ned Schneebley, goes to teach at a prestigious private school. He has no idea how and what to teach children, and at first he is not enthusiastic. But the class is full of young talents who are excellent at playing musical instruments. Dewey realizes that this is his chance to create a new rock band and, finally, change his life for the better.

Richard Linklater's touching comedy about how a social outcast turned out to be a born teacher and quietly helped his students cope with problems, received high marks from critics.

And rock fans will also have fun with Finn's tutorials - songs from The Doors, Ramones and Led Zeppelin.

14. Class

• Estonia, 2007.
• Psychological drama.
• Duration: 99 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Outcast Josep (Pärt Uusberg) is ridiculed and beaten by the main school bully and his many friends. One of them, Kaspar (Vallo Kirs), deep down sympathizes with the victim. Gradually, he himself goes over to the side of Josep. Classmates do not forgive Kaspar's betrayal, not suspecting that their cruelty will lead to devastating consequences.

The plot of the resonant drama by the Estonian director Ilmar Raag is also inspired by the events at the American Columbine School. The creators wondered how the high school students who committed the mass murder felt. The result is one of the best films about school bullying and its unpredictable impact on the psyche of the victim.

15. It's good to be quiet

• USA, 2012.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Created by Stephen Chbosky from his novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a shy high school student, Charlie (Logan Lerman). After the loss of his beloved aunt and best friend, the boy suffers from depression and guilt. But life gets better when Charlie meets Patrick (Ezra Miller) and his half-sister Sam (Emma Watson). Gradually he grows up and re-learns to communicate and love.

“It's Good to Be Quiet” is a visual aid to the psychology of adolescents and, at the same time, a reflection on how repressed memories from trauma can be dangerous for an individual.