THEME EXPLORATION

childhood ambition

42 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Miracle in Milan
Miracle in Milan
1951 · Vittorio De Sica
Flowers of Shanghai
Flowers of Shanghai
1998 · Hou Hsiao-hsien
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
1952 · Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In
2008 · Tomas Alfredson
Past Lives
Past Lives
2023 · Celine Song
Ponyo
Ponyo
2008 · Hayao Miyazaki
The Miracle of Marcelino
The Miracle of Marcelino
1990 · Ladislao Vajda
The Silence
The Silence
1963 · Ingmar Bergman
Top Gun
Top Gun
1987 · Tony Scott
Viktor und Viktoria
Viktor und Viktoria
1933 · Reinhold Schünzel
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
1936 · Max Ophuls
Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali
1955 · Satyajit Ray
El espiritu de la colmena
El espiritu de la colmena
1973 · Victor Erice
Cold War
Cold War
2018 · Paweł Pawlikowski
Festen
Festen
1998 · Thomas Vinterberg
Frankenstein
Frankenstein
2025 · Guillermo del Toro
Landscape in the Mist
Landscape in the Mist
1988 · Theo Angelopoulos & Theodoros Angelopoulos
Touki Bouki
Touki Bouki
1973 · Djibril Diop Mambéty
Wadjda
Wadjda
2012 · Haifaa al-Mansour
Children of Heaven
Children of Heaven
1997 · Majid Majidi
Syndromes and a Century
Syndromes and a Century
2006 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
1951 · Ida Lupino
The Young Girls of Rochefort
The Young Girls of Rochefort
1967 · Jacques Demy
7 Boxes
7 Boxes
2012 · Juan Carlos Maneglia
Savage Messiah
Savage Messiah
1972 · Ken Russell
Angel at Sea
Angel at Sea
2009 · Frédéric Dumont
Babai
Babai
2015 · Visar Morina
Henry V
Henry V
1989 · —
Kooky
Kooky
2010 · Jan Svěrák
Pelo Malo
Pelo Malo
2013 · Mariana Rondón
Reprise
Reprise
2006 · Joachim Trier
State of Fear
State of Fear
1990 · Janusz Kijowski
The Night of the Hunter
The Night of the Hunter
1955 · Charles Laughton
Year of the Devil
Year of the Devil
2002 · Petr Zelenka
Sick of Myself
Sick of Myself
2022 · Kristoffer Borgli
Boys Go to Jupiter
Boys Go to Jupiter
2026 · Julian Glander
2DIE4
2DIE4
2026 · André Abdala
All Greens
All Greens
2026 · Takashi Koyama
Chand Mera Dil
Chand Mera Dil
2026 · Vivek Soni
Cold War 1994
Cold War 1994
2026 · Leung Lok-Man
Don't Leave the Kids Alone
Don't Leave the Kids Alone
2026 · Emilio Portes
Doubles Match
Doubles Match
2026 · Hung Po-hao
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Hayao Miyazaki Japan

His films consistently explore how childhood dreams and imagination shape identity, from Chihiro's journey in Spirited Away to the youthful ambitions in Kiki's Delivery Service.

 Richard Linklater United States

His Boyhood trilogy and films like Dazed and Confused intimately chronicle how childhood aspirations evolve and sometimes clash with reality as characters mature.

 Isao Takahata Japan

Films like Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya examine how childhood ambitions are tested and transformed by circumstances beyond a child's control.