Malcolm recently observed that in The Way, Way Back the young protagonist moves from one world of crazy adults into another, in order to gain insight. You must return to the world of you birth. You have to go but you can't stay. There is knowledge to be gained outside the walls of your ken. Is this the heroic archetype? Plato's cave?
Other movies that fit this model include:
Girl Most Likely
The Lifeguard
The Kings of Summer
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland
Does every film work this way? Are they all quest stories?
