The coming-of-age story gets a fresh perspective and an unconventional setting in writer-director Chet Hartigan’s Morris from America. As with most movies of this ilk, the protagonist is a young teenager searching for an identity that suits him. He takes an interest in a young woman, falls in with a crowd of older kids, fights with his dad, and blasts music through headphones.

But in a refreshing twist that really shouldn’t be considered a twist in 2016, the title character is black, adding an element of specificity that’s explored alongside universal themes of adolescent confusion. Morris, 13, is searching for himself in unfamiliar territory: Heidelberg, Germany, where and he and his father have recently moved following the death of Morris’ mother. The movie lets each of these elements drive the narrative, and as a result it avoids some — but not all — of the subgenre’s hoariest cliches.

The first scene establishes the movie’s central and most interesting relationship, between Morris (Markees Christmas) and his father Curtis, played with relaxed tenderness by Craig Robinson. Curtis wants Morris to rap along to one of his favorite songs, but Morris isn’t into it. Curtis reacts with mock outrage, but his crestfallen expression tells the rest of the story. Robinson’s visible heartbreak at this missed connection is one of many small moments that add up to a dazzling dramatic turn from an actor primarily known for comedy.

Once a bit of dialogue confirms that Curtis’ wife has passed away, an undercurrent of melancholy informs even the most joyful moments. The tragedy provides poignant context for Morris’ surly, adrift demeanor. Christmas captures shades of naivete, precociousness, bravado, and tentativeness; he’s a knockout. The movie relies on his charisma and the easygoing rapport between him and Robinson to explore the emotional turmoil of a grieving family.

Morris has a rich life beyond his father as well. He learns German from a friendly college student named Inka (Carla Juri). On her advice, he attends a youth activities group in an effort to meet new friends. Instead, he runs into Katrin (Lina Keller), a slightly older and far more rebellious girl with a DJ boyfriend and a fondness for ecstasy. Her world intrigues him, and she seems to reciprocate, if not always in the way Morris hopes.

It’s here that the movie lapses into convention. An older man writing a movie from the perspective of an younger man will naturally be tempted to indulge fond, flattened memories of his first crushes. The movie does take care to show us the world through Morris’ eyes, as when everyone around Morris appears to be bopping their heads to music only he can hear. But watching the world through Morris’ eyes is less interesting when his eyes are seeing what every straight young boy in every movie like this one sees. Keller is winning, but the tight focus on Morris robs the movie of a sorely missed feminine perspective.

Race plays a role in the story, as it would in real life. Hartigan, who is white, depicts his central characters’ blackness as both a point of pride and a hurdle. Both Morris and Curtis face prejudice and ignorance, as most people they come to meet have little or no experience with non-white people. But the Gentries also revel in their love of hip-hop, and adjust to their minority status because that experience isn’t new to them. This is by no means a definitive portrait of the black American experience overseas, but it takes that aspect seriously.

Morris from America does just enough within the established tradition to rise above average. It’s a sweet slice of life that’s better for thinking smaller and going just a little deeper. Morris hasn’t come of age by the end, but he’s had some crucial experiences that will help him get there after the credits roll. Even at its most familiar, the incomplete journey is a pleasure to behold.

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Morris from America
Written and directed by Chad Hartigan
With Markees Christmas, Craig Robinson, Carla Juri, Lina Keller
Rated R for teen drug use and partying, sexual material, brief nudity, and language throughout
91 minutes
Opens today at Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market and AFI Silver.