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Being 17

Play trailer 1:32 Poster for Being 17 Released Oct 7, 2016 1h 54m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
When his mother takes in a bully whose own mother is ill, the son of a soldier must learn to live with the boy who terrorized him.
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Being 17

Being 17

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Critics Consensus

Being 17 rides the roiling emotions of adolescence through a coming-of-age melodrama whose narrative turbulence smartly reflects the confusion of its protagonists.

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Critics Reviews

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Scott Marks San Diego Reader If you can buy into the premise, good luck to you. I didn't. Rated: 1/5 Dec 1, 2016 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader The screenplay is marred by clumsy foreshadowing and other contrivances, but Tchin and Sciamma have tapped into something genuine: the deep confusion at the dawn of sexuality. Dec 1, 2016 Full Review Brad Wheeler Globe and Mail Age in Being 17 comes in awkward bursts, and yet the film moves sublimely. Director Tchin, 73 years old, is wise beyond his years. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 18, 2016 Full Review Brian T. Carney Washington Blade Without a wasted word or shot, the film is a master work that offers a complex portrait of two teens and their families as the boys deal with both coming out and coming of age. Dec 21, 2022 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter Being 17 is that most marvelous of finds, an instant classic on the subject French filmmakers have traditionally excelled at: truly messy love affairs. Jun 9, 2020 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Though it eventually turns to a more customary realm than initially promised, there's a refreshing verve and chemistry between its key players. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 2, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ty N A beautiful later work from the great Andre Techine. If you have seen his 1994 masterpiece Wild Reeds, you will notice several familiar motifs. The main difference is that the protagonist in this story is the polar opposite of the protagonist in Wild Reeds. One senses that Techine sought to break down the emotional and cultural barriers that were omnipresent in the earlier film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/24 Full Review Audience Member Nice movie about two boys exploring their sexuality. The nature is stunning and every scene in the mountains has a nice atmosphere. Maybe what would make this movie perfect is to somehow end it ? In the end there were many questions unanswered and for me I wanted a better and meaningful end. But definitely worth watching. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Não é novidade para ninguém que a França é um dos maiores polos artísticos do mundo, dito isso, não precisa de muito para saber que 'Quand On A 17 Ans' é uma obra de origem francesa e que encanta e desperta as mais diversas sensações a todos que se aventuram a mergulhar numa história interiorana, simples, mas com grande potencial. O longa tem como eixo central a história de Damien e Thomas, que por sinal, é um fascínio puro de tensão sexual e descobrimento, trazendo com força, a forma em que adolescentes limitados lidam com sua sexualidade. Seguindo uma linha narrativa pouco previsível, a história dos rapazes acaba revelando grandes atuações, e são essas atuações as responsáveis por elevar o entendimento do público, que entre controvérsias e complexidades dos personagens, acaba deixando em certos pontos, a história mais acessível. O Plot Twist trabalhado desde o início da história, surte um efeito que muda o rumo de tudo a partir da metade do segundo ato. E essa mudança repentina que acaba abrindo espaço para que a chave central da história comece a se desenvolver com mais intensidade, e bota intensidade nisso. 'Quand On A 17 Ans' é uma história rica, gravada de maneira modesta e simples, mas apaixonante e sensual na medida que deve ser. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Granted the movie needed pre & post-production help (Writing, editing, etc), but the acting and directing was really quite good was really quite good. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Charming story in a scenic setting. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A really, really good gay/coming of age film. Not just about the kids' problems with being gay and their attraction, but also what shapes them as humans, with as much emphasis on especially one of the boys' mother, it was as much her story as it was theirs. Great acting. Beautiful, but not "big" cinematography - although the snow covered mountains made me almost miss snow - and I HATE the cold! And it was not over the top/sugar-coaty as most American movies (or was about just drugs and screwing every guy you come near, as also happens in most gay-themed American movies) in this genre, which gives it extra points. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Being 17

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When his mother takes in a bully whose own mother is ill, the son of a soldier must learn to live with the boy who terrorized him.
Director
André Téchiné
Producer
Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier
Screenwriter
André Téchiné, Céline Sciamma
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Production Co
Fidélité Films, Wild Bunch, France 2 Cinéma
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 7, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$52.7K
Runtime
1h 54m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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