Everybody loves a good coming of age film, and the best thing about coming of age films is that they come in all shapes and sizes. Right now if you’re subscribed to Netflix you can stream two of the best coming of age films out there, Beasts of No Nation & King Jack, both about a kid growing up in less than perfect circumstances… and thats about the only thing they have in common.

Beasts of No Nation is an amazing Netflix original film that came out in 2015. Its a boy who becomes a child soldier through horrible circumstances and gets swept up in a violent African civil war. The movie has a great roster, directed by True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga, and starring Abraham Attah in an amazing performance as the child soldier Agu, and Idris Elba as a brutal and manipulative warlord. The movie is very intense. Shit goes down people. You might even shed a tear or two. I’d describe the movie as Peter Pan meets Apocalypse Now. Things will definitely get a little weird and not in a good way. Its a must see for sure, its actually shocking that no one involved in the movie got an Oscar…

Then there’s King Jack, also streaming now on Netflix. I was lucky enough to catch this at the Tribeca Film Festival two years ago and I loved it. Directed by Felix Thompson and starring Charlie Plummer as Jack, King Jack is about a down on his luck kid stuck in a crummy world of persistent bullies and attempted/failed romances. Jack gets dealt more crap hands than anyone on earth, and we get to follow him on what appears to be his crappiest of weekends. Jack gets put down by everyone around him with not just sticks and stones but words, and words hurt guys. Yet still he comes out as a King and thats why I love this movie.

Beasts of No Nation & King Jack are both amazing films from 2015 that tell two brilliant yet drastically different coming of age tales. Watch Beasts of No Nation then stare out your window and hold back your tears for and hour or so, then watch King Jack to cleanse the pallet with one of the best unknown underdog stories in the past few years.

Let us know what you think of these movies, and thanks for reading…

Photo Credit: Snagged from venturebeat.com & theverge.com

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