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Childhood trauma is no stranger to a lot of people, often shaping someone's identity, relationships, and sense of self in complex ways. Although some of us look back on childhood with joy, it is not uncommon for others to confront the scars that heart-wrenching experiences leave behind. Considering that cinema has always been a tool of self-expression and solace, many films have dived into painful places, giving voice to people who are misunderstood.
Movies have a way of capturing difficult emotions and painting complex scenarios, sometimes with particularly moving and eye-opening results. These films remind audiences that healing is possible and that confronting ghosts of the past is the first step to reclaiming one's identity. Without further ado, we look back at the best movies that powerfully explore childhood trauma and the emotional wounds left behind, from My Girl to Moonlight.
10 'My Girl' (1991)
Director: Howard Zieff
Image via Columbia Pictures Directed by Howard Zieff, My Girl is a poignant coming-of-age story that effectively explores the delicate topic of childhood trauma. The movie revolves around 11-year-old Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) grappling with growing up and loss. In the film, her turbulence is all-consuming, with the story exploring how children cope with trauma even when they don't fully understand it.
From the beginning of My Girl, Vada's life is shaped by loss. Her mother died during childbirth and her father is emotionally distant; even if she's too young to articulate and explain her feelings, Vada ends up developing a fixation on illness and death as a manifestation of her repressed grief. Zieff's movie is powerful because it captures how heartbreaking it is for children to lose a loved one, including how such a traumatic experience shapes them in a crucial stage of their lives.
My Girl
Release Date November 27, 1991
Runtime 102 Minutes
9 'Sleepers' (1996)
Director: Barry Levinson
Image via Warner Brothers This prison crime drama by Barry Levinson is based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's novel and meditates on the long-lasting effects of childhood trauma. It centers around four boys sent to reform school, eventually undergoing physical and sexual abuse at the hands of those in power. This naturally shapes the trajectory of their lives, with the film illustrating the event's effect on identity and morality.
Sleepers illustrates the scars that childhood abuse leaves behind and often lingers into adulthood. It reinforces how trauma does not disappear with time but instead transforms who one becomes, especially as it resurfaces in unexpected ways. The movie also does a great job of highlighting how trauma triggers different responses from different people: while some seek revenge, others channel their pain in a more calculated way.
Release Date October 18, 1996
Runtime 127 Minutes
8 'Us' (2019)
Director: Jordan Peele
Image via Universal Pictures Get Out director Jordan Peele does an incredible job illustrating and exploring a nightmarish descent in Us, where its lead character takes a vacation to Santa Cruz, California. Things take a wild turn when four strangers break into her childhood home, only for the family to realize that the intruders look exactly like them.
This haunting psychological horror is a brilliant showcase of childhood trauma, with an unexpected twist near its ending catching everyone off-guard. While there is not much that can be said without giving Us' twists away, Adelaide has certainly undergone a life-changing experience as a child that greatly impacted her life as an adult — perhaps more than viewers initially imagined. This is a crucial aspect of the film's twisted narrative, which often explores duality, identity, and social disparity.
Us (2019)
Release Date March 22, 2019
Runtime 116 minutes
7 'The Quiet Girl' (2022)
Director: Colm Bairéad
Image Via Break Out Pictures Silence speaks loudly in Colm Bairéad's fantastic Irish drama The Quiet Girl, an intriguing exploration of the rippling effects of isolation and family dysfunction in a child's life. Set in rural Ireland, it sees a neglected girl (Catherine Clinch) sent away from her parents to live with relatives for the summer.
Emotional alienation and the effects of neglect in childhood are the main themes in Bairéad's touching movie. Cáit's withdrawal is a defense mechanism after feeling abandoned. Proof of this is how her behavior changes when she is met with kindness in a different environment and she experiences love for the first time. No doubt, The Quiet Girl is an utterly poignant movie that addresses the scars of emotional abandonment while also sending out a message of hope.
Release Date May 13, 2022
Cast Carrie Crowley , Andrew Bennett , Catherine Clinch , Michael Patric
Runtime 94 minutes
6 'Room' (2015)
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Image via A24 Lenny Abrahamson's heart-wrenching examination of the effects of isolation and captivity features two powerful performances (Brie Larson's Oscar-winning efforts and Jacob Tremblay's acting) at its center. It focuses on a five-year-old boy who has never known the world outside because he has been held captive in a room with his mother since birth.
What is interesting about Room is how it showcases, through its gripping narrative, that trauma can sometimes create a distorted sense of normalcy: for Jack, the small space he inhabits is not a prison but rather his entire reality — he has never known anything else. Ma also struggles with her own trauma and navigates it while taking care of her son, with the powerful connection between the two being the focal point in a painful journey toward healing.
Release Date October 16, 2015
Runtime 113 minutes
5 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' (2012)
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Image via Summit Entertainment Adapted from the bestselling book by Stephen Chbosky, this soul-crushing coming-of-age drama delves into the complexities that come with growing up. It sees a 15-year-old introverted teenager (Logan Lerman) entering high school and navigating his new life. After befriending his seniors, he attempts to cope with his friend's suicide and confront his own tumultuous past.
Charlie's depression and emotional burdens are a central aspect of the movie; The Perks of Being a Wallflower frequently hints at its protagonist's traumatic childhood past, which, of course, includes the death of his best friend. Understandably, this is something that deeply affects him, even leading to feelings of guilt. While The Perks of Being a Wallflower features plenty of heartbreaking moments, it also highlights the power of friendship and the importance of confronting emotional ghosts.
Release Date September 20, 2012
Runtime 102 minutes
4 'Pan's Labyrinth' (2006)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures Pan's Labyrinth is not only a masterful movie narrative-wise, but also visually rich and immersive, perfectly capturing the darkness of such a devastating historical time. This unconventional coming-of-age dark fantasy is set in Falangist Spain of 1944, focusing on the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer. Ofelia finds escapism in an eerie fantasy world.
Guillermo del Toro's stunning feature paints the labyrinth as a safe space for its lead character; when inside it, Ofelia can take over control of her life and confront challenges that reflect her struggles. Pan's Labyrinth is very much a film about traumatic childhoods in the heartbreaking context of war, reflecting on how fantasy and imagination serve as an escape for deeply scarred children. Furthermore, the movie also tackles violence and authoritarian control, providing audiences with a thought-provoking storyline.
Pan's Labyrinth
Release Date August 25, 2006
Runtime 112 minutes
3 'The Florida Project' (2017)
Director: Sean Baker
Image via A24 Like Pan's Labyrinth, The Florida Project excels in the visuals department. The story is set over one summer, following precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) as she courts mischief and adventure with her playmates and bonds with her caring — even though unconventional — mother (Bria Vinaite) while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.
In addition to its incredible execution, The Florida Project is an emotionally rich narrative that explores childhood innocence and the harsh realities of poverty in childhood, highlighting how this often affects the growing-up experience. Sean Baker's movie demands compassion and systemic change — its raw depiction of the struggles some families face incites audiences to look at those overlooked by society in a more empathetic way, leaving a lasting impact on audiences even after the credits roll.
Release Date October 6, 2017
Cast Brooklynn Prince , Christopher Rivera , Aiden Malik , Josie Olivo , Valeria Cotto , Edward Pagan
Runtime 111 mins
2 'Mysterious Skin' (2004)
Director: Gregg Araki
Image via Desperate Pictures Gregg Araki's haunting Mysterious Skin, based on the novel by Scott Heim, sheds light on the ways that abuse can shape identities. It follows two young men (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbot) who experienced the same trauma in childhood but process it in drastically different ways: one becomes a reckless sex worker; the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy involving alien abduction culture.
Memory and the way trauma affects it (fragments it) is also a major theme in Araki's brutal, at times hard-to-watch movie. Mysterious Skin showcases how trauma, particularly sexual abuse, can manifest in many different ways, including dissociative episodes to protect our minds from painful memories. It sheds light on the different ways there are to cope with trauma, emphasizing that there is no right or wrong path toward healing from such life-changing experiences.
1 'Moonlight' (2016)
Director: Barry Jenkins
Image via A24 Barry Jenkins' fantastic Best Picture Winner focuses on the life of an African-American man through the years, depicting his struggles with identity and sexuality. Moonlight spans his everyday anxieties during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, featuring three different talented actors on each stage (Trevante Rhdoes, Alex R. Hibbert, and Ashton Sanders).
Addressing masculinity, sexuality, and identity in genuinely empathetic and graceful ways, this LGBTQ+ essential is a powerful reminder of how trauma shapes us from the beginning, with Chiron's upbringing being very affected by impoverished environments and his absent mother's (Naomi Harries) drug addiction. Although it probably resonates with some audience members more than others, it is ultimately a powerful film about the human condition and self-acceptance in how it tackles important themes, such as the reclaiming of identity and our universal need to be seen, understood, and loved for our unique selves.
Release Date October 21, 2016
Runtime 111 Minutes
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