What age is On the Basis of Sex appropriate for?

Rated PG-13 in the US. 13, alone or with a parent; 8 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is On the Basis of Sex not recommended under 13?

What's in it: the official rating, first; a sick husband, a mother lost too soon; the word "sex" in the pleadings; a demonstration, a baseball game. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

On the Basis of Sex: what age is it for? 13, alone or with a parent

From 13, alone or with a parent.

Movie · 2018 · 2 h 00 · drama, history

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 PG-13, and we never go below it. Alone from 13, and not before, even with an adult.

The sweet spot: around 13-15, when you have understood what a law is, and can follow a court argument to find out whether it is fair. Why a sweet spot?

Official US rating: PG-13. In France, zinema would say 8.

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

Young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of sex discrimination.

Why 13

The official rating, firstRated PG-13 in the US (parents strongly cautioned, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13). zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.
rule
A sick husband, a mother lost too soonThe heroine's husband is treated for cancer at the start of the film, and her mother, who died when she was a teenager, is talked about; tears, hospital scenes. No violence.
The word "sex" in the pleadingsThe film is about discrimination on the basis of sex, and the word comes up constantly in courtrooms; a tender couple's scene, suggested. About twenty swear words in English.
A demonstration, a baseball gameWomen protesters jostled by police, a swing of a bat; nothing bloody.

What the movie brings

The true story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from her first year of law school to her first case won.
A husband who cooks and supports his wife in the 1960s, shown without making it a feat.
Understanding that a law can be unjust and that you can change it with arguments.

Watching it together

Before

The film is a courtroom drama, slow for younger children; explain beforehand what discriminating means.

After

at 13 and up

Ruth wins because she defends a man who was discriminated against: why choose that case rather than a woman's?

See the facts

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Visible injury, blood●●○ · saidmeasured

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Abandonment, separation, confinement●○○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●○○ · saidmeasured

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Fighting, brawls●○○ · shownmeasured

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Sex scene, suggested or shown●○○ · shownreading

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Verbal threat or intimidation●○○ · saidmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

Tenzing 10, 9 with a parent
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KPop Demon Hunters 8, 7 with a parent
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A zinema reading from September 20, 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