Rent

Jonathan Larson’s pop-rock tribute to the East Village bohemia of the late 1980s doesn’t look like a musical that would age well, but what was oppressive on stage — all that righteous passion! — is lightened, liberated in the film. The characters don’t just break into song; they burst into who they are. What shines through is the beauty of Larson’s bohemia: not to be a rebel but, simply, to be alive.