Films by season & age - Journeys (Ages 12-15)

Seasons are a great way to explore different ideas through watching a group of films. Why not try watching all the films in a season and make some time for discussion. Topics and discussion points are included.

Every good story is, in its way, a journey - so it only makes sense that some of the greatest films ever made are about journeys. In this Film Club season, we're pleased to present some of them.

Only a couple of the films here are conventional "road movies" - and even then, there's something a little unusual about them. Take The Straight Story, for example, where the journey is taken by an old man on top of a lawnmower - or the brilliant O Brother Where Art Thou, with George Clooney among its trio of convicts on the run. In some of the movies here (2001 - A Space Odyssey), the setting for the journey is far out in space - in others, such as the haunting Walkabout, it may as well be. But all the films here are linked by the hope that their characters will, eventually, get to where they need to be.

Talking points:

  • Did any of the films here make you want to embark on a journey yourself?
  • Can you think of anywhere in the world that would be a good setting for a film about a journey now?
  • Do the portraits of space and aliens in 2001 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind seem dated, or do they still have the power to thrill?

Guidance:

Although Walkabout is a sensitive and intelligent film, it contains certain scenes dealing with adolescent sexuality.