The Top Childhood films countdown has begun at Wonders in the Dark. Essays of the Top 83 films will be posted from June - October 2015. As per the ballot rules, films where the character's age fell between 1 - 18 years were eligible for consideration. Such a broad age gap certainly made for some challenges in coming up with a list because a like for like comparison is not feasible between films where the main character is under 10 years of age compared to films where the main character is a teenager. Therefore, I came up with my own criteria when submitting a ballot of the Top 60 films. I decided to place films where the main character was a teenager near the end of the list and opted to have films with younger characters closer to the front. There were some exceptions but I tried to maintain this distinction.
Here is my Top 60 Childhood films ballot submitted to Wonders in the Dark:
Here is my Top 60 Childhood films ballot submitted to Wonders in the Dark:
- The 400 Blows / Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959, France, François Truffaut)
- Pather Panchali (1955, India, Satyajit Ray)
- The Red Balloon (1956, France, Albert Lamorisse)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, USA, Robert Mulligan)
- I was Born, But... (1932, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
- The White Balloon (1995, Iran, Jafar Panahi)
- The Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italy, Vittorio De Sica)
- Naked Childhood / L'enfance nue (1968, France, Maurice Pialat)
- Where is the friend’s home? (1987, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
- The Kid with a Bike (2011, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
- Mouchette (1967, France, Robert Bresson)
- Cinema Paradiso (1988, Italy, Giuseppe Tornatore)
- Good Morning (1959, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
- Yi Yi (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
- The Night of the Hunter (1955, USA, Charles Laughton)
- Kes (1969, UK, Ken Loach)
- The Kid (1921, USA, Charlie Chaplin)
- A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
- The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Spain, Victor Erice)
- Hope and Glory (1987, UK, John Boorman)
- Cria Cuervos (1976, Spain, Carlos Saura)
- The Long Day Closes (1992, UK, Terence Davies)
- Crows (1984, Poland, Dorota Kedzierzawska)
- My Childhood (1972, UK, Bill Douglas)
- Rosetta (1999, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
- My Neighbour Totoro (1988, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
- Germany, Year Zero (1948, Italy/West Germany/France, Roberto Rossellini)
- An Inn in Tokyo (1935, Japan, Yasujirô Ozu)
- Zero for Conduct (1933, France, Jean Vigo)
- Aparajito (1957, India, Satyajit Ray)
- Nobody Knows (2004, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)
- Fanny and Alexander (1982, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
- The Tin Drum (1979, West Germany, Volker Schlöndorff)
- The Last Picture Show (1971, USA, Peter Bogdanovich)
- Ghost World (2001, USA, Terry Zwigoff)
- Lord of the Flies (1963, UK, Peter Brook)
- Pixote (1981, Brazil, Hector Babenco)
- The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938, USSR, Mark Donskoy)
- Los Olvidados (1950, Mexico, Luis Buñuel)
- Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987, France/West Germany, Italy, Louis Malle)
- The Apple (1998, Iran, Samira Makhmalbaf)
- Ivan’s Childhood (1962, USSR, Andrei Tarkovsky)
- Spirited Away (2001, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
- Blood / O Sangue (1989, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
- Mon Oncle (1958, France/Italy, Jacques Tati)
- Aniki Bóbó (1942, Portugal, Manoel de Oliveira)
- I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan)
- Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden, Tomas Alfredson)
- Fat Girl (2001, France/Italy, Catherine Breillat)
- Beijing Bicycle (2001, China, Xiaoshuai Wang)
- Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Japan, Isao Takahata)
- Dead Poets Society (1989, USA, Peter Weir)
- Taare Zameen Par (2007, India, Aamir Khan/Amole Gupte)
- Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990, Tunisia/France/Italy, Ferid Boughedir)
- Mon Oncle Antoine (1971, Canada, Claude Jutra)
- I Wish (2011, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)
- Show me Love (1998, Sweden/Denmark, Lukas Moodysson)
- A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia/France/Belgium, Ferid Boughedir)
- Rebels of the Neon God (1992, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
- Kids (1995, USA, Larry Clark)
