What age is Modern Times appropriate for?

7 alone, 6 with a parent; 7 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is Modern Times not recommended under 7?

What's in it: our reading; fights, truncheons and gunshots, all slapstick; an orphan chased by the police; cigarettes, beer and a salt shaker. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

Modern Times: what age is it for? 7 alone, 6 with a parent

7 alone, 6 with a parent.

Movie · 1936 · 1 h 27 · comedy, drama, romance

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

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not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralonethe sweet spot

The official US rating is G; we never go below it, and here we go above: 7. Alone from 7; from 6, with an adult or by talking about it afterwards.

The sweet spot: around 7-9, when you laugh at a man swallowed by a machine, accept black and white without words, and can watch two little girls taken to the orphanage. Why a sweet spot?

Official US rating: G; zinema says 7. In France, zinema would say 7.

Watch the trailerContinue in zinemathen where to watch it, in zinema · more trailers, and where to watch films · Where to stream itWhere to watch

What it's about

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...

Why 7

Our readingThe cigarettes are those of 1936 and the salt-shaker gag is invisible to a child: nothing here asks for more than seven, the same age as in France.
reading
Fights, truncheons and gunshots, all slapstickTwo hundred and seventy-six images of fighting, policemen with truncheons, a prison riot, a pistol that goes off by itself: everything is stunt work and nobody gets hurt. The gamine's father is killed by a stray bullet in a demonstration, from afar, without blood.
An orphan chased by the policeThe gamine steals bread to eat, her little sisters are taken to the orphanage, she runs away; hunger and prison are the background of the film, beneath the laughter.
Cigarettes, beer and a salt shakerPeople smoke and drink a lot, as in 1936; in prison, the Tramp salts his soup with a powder that is not salt and becomes euphoric, a gag only an adult understands.

What the movie brings

The Tramp caught in the gears: the most famous image of silent cinema, and a gag a six-year-old understands.
The first film where Chaplin's voice is heard, in a song of gibberish.
A factory, a strike, hunger: the America of 1936 seen by a clown.

Watching it together

Before

The father killed in the demonstration passes quickly; the little sisters taken away may touch a six-year-old, a word is enough. Silent film asks that the title cards be read aloud for the youngest.

After

at 7 and up

The Tramp tightens bolts until he loses his mind: what, in a day, makes you go round in circles?

See the facts

A weapon shown or used●●○ · suggestedmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Fighting, brawls●●○ · shownmeasured

Frightening imagery●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Pace●●○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●○○ · saidmeasured

Death of a character●○○ · shownreading

Drugs●○○ · shownreading

Long dark scenes, night, storm●○○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●○○ · shownmeasured

Visible injury, blood●○○ · shownmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

Tadeo Jones y La Lámpara Maravillosa 7, 6 with a parent
LEGO ONE PIECE 7, 6 with a parent
Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas 7, 6 with a parent
Les 12 travaux d'Astérix 7, 6 with a parent

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The Iron Giant 7, 6 with a parent

A zinema reading from September 21, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made