For the summer months, Cinephile Paradiso is bringing you 3 groovy films from 1967 that captures the spirit of the ‘60s in a mini-strand we have called Cinephile’s SUMMER OF LOVE. The first film in this mini-series is Mike Nichols’ timeless classic The Graduate…

Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) has just finished college and, back at his parents’ house, he’s trying to avoid the one question everyone keeps asking: What does he want to do with his life? While he is lured into a seductive affair with an older woman, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), Benjamin also falls in love with her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). 

At the time of the film’s release, young people were making their voices heard in politics and existential anxieties began to crop up as the chasm between generations widened. The film that summed it all up was The Graduate. Along with its Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, The Graduate’s appeal and acclaim has remained over the decades.