That got us thinking about what a canon of films about the US Latino coming-of-age experience looks like. That’s why, as much as you can love, say, Lady Bird, you may find that a film like Real Women Have Curves, which as we’ve discussed here before, covers all too similar ground, resonates more strongly with you. Who hasn’t looked back on their own teenage years and remembered that one summer, or that one romance, or that one fight with your parents that changed it all? The stories we tell in those movies are premised on relatability: “Hey, that’s exactly how much of an outcast I felt at my high school!” or “Oh my god, that’s my mom and I’s relationship!” But even with those kinds of universal stories, the really good coming-of-age flicks succeed in their specificity. The coming-of-age film is an enduring genre and it’s easy to see why.
