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Dead Poets Society

1989 · TMDB 8.3

Directed by Peter Weir

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Why it matters

Robin Williams's John Keating uses poetry to ignite a passion for life in the boys of Welton Academy, urging them to 'seize the day'. The film's tragic final act asks hard questions about the cost of non-conformity and the limits of a teacher's influence.

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