My wife went on a four-day out-of-state retreat recently, leaving me at home with our 15-year-old son. We had lots of free time, because it was summer break, so I decided we should binge on a little movie tutorial. I wanted to expose my son to the movies I regard as essential viewing because of their cultural and historical relevance.
Here are the seven movies we watched, all of which I think every parent should view with their teenagers. One caveat: Check out each of these movies on one of the many parent-friendly websites that provide guidance about sexual content, violence and language. Every parent has different standards and every teenager is unique in terms of what they can handle.
• “Witness” (1985). My son objected at first, particularly after seeing the trailer. “A detective story? In Amish country? There’s a barn-raising scene? Are you kidding me, Dad?” I implored him to at least watch the first few minutes with me before rendering final judgment. It worked. He was totally drawn in to the Harrison Ford movie, and I think it’s because “Witness” is not only about a man trying to solve a murder while saving his own life, but also about someone immersing himself in a culture that is completely different from his own. That changes him in important ways even as he struggles to hold on to his beliefs and values. That’s where the conflict plays out and makes “Witness” so compelling. That and the barn-raising scene, which my son actually thought was pretty cool.
• “L?on: The Professional” (1994). Gary Oldman plays a psychotic, drug-addled Drug Enforcement Administration agent intent on hunting down and eliminating a very young Natalie Portman. Standing in his way is her neighbor, an illiterate Italian hit man named L?on (Jean Reno). It is a violent movie with many powerful scenes, including when Portman stands at L?on’s front door, holding a bag of groceries, after her entire family has been gunned down. She cries and begs him to take her. L?on hesitates, not wanting to get pulled into any of this, but decides to help. Every young person needs to know that at some point they will have to choose whether to help someone even though it may put them at personal risk.