6 Movies About Motherhood

Movies about motherhood tend not to sweeten – at least not as much as advertising does – the physical and psychological experience of giving birth and raising a child. Society tends to glorify motherhood and make it seem like nothing short of a pleasant experience in its entirety. They put the focus on the light ones, leaving the dark ones without light.

The best movies about motherhood are characterized by being honest with the experience. Motherhood is raw, painful, and remarkably harsh. Like the uncertainty or insecurity that it can generate, it has a very important impact on the mother’s body. On the other hand, it is a process in which there are great individual differences.

These films about motherhood seek the portrait, the honesty as we have said, more than the story . They not only film the parenting process, but the psychology of the woman during pregnancy.

The Strength of Caring by James L. Brooks

The power of affection set the standard for maternity movies that few have been able to match or replicate. The 1983 film stars Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine as a mother and daughter seeking love, sometimes forgetting that they both profess.

Emma (Debra Winger) marries Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) against her mother’s wishes. Emma eventually separates from him and returns to her mother, who has terminal cancer. The film covers a 30-year time span and highlights all the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship.

Mildred Pierce by Michael Curtiz

Mildred Pierce is a masterpiece of film noir and is another of the movies about motherhood that deserves a place on our list. The film was released in 1945 and shows how much a mother will sacrifice for her children. The film marked the return of Joan Crawford, who won the Academy Award for her performance.

Joan Crawford, like Mildred Pierce, is the story of a woman hell-bent on making something of herself for her children. Watching Mildred go beyond morals to give her children what they want and not let anything get in the way is something some mothers can come to relate to.

We need to talk about Kevin from Lynne Ramsay

We have to talk about Kevin is a reference work of Anglo-Saxon literature of the last decade adapted by Lynne Ramsay to the cinema and starring Tilda Swinton and the then unknown Ezra Miller. In recent years, the film has been among the essential recommendations of those who want to see a sincere movie about motherhood.

Tilda Swinton plays Eva, who has put her professional life and personal ambitions aside to give birth to Kevin. Communication between mother and child is very complicated from the beginning.

On the eve of his 16th birthday, Kevin commits an irreparable act of evil. Eva is torn between guilt and her maternal feelings. When Kevin enters jail, Eva will take a trip back in time to try to understand the mistakes he has made.

Ayka by Sergei Dvortsevoy

Ayka tells the heartbreaking story of a mother who cannot afford to raise a child. We are talking about an illegal worker in Moscow who has to pay too many debts and does not even have a place to sleep. After giving birth to her son, she leaves him in the hospital.

However, some time later, she feels the need to know about her son. This film shows the impossibility of raising a child without an economic and social network to support you. It is a film similar to the Belgian Rosetta, which led to the “Rosetta Law” : a ruling that prohibits employers from paying adolescent workers less than the minimum wage or not registering them with social security.

Lemonade by Ioana Uricaru

Ioana Uricaru won the Sarajevo Award for Best Director for Lemonade, after being premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. We are talking about a debut produced and sponsored by a whole Cristian Mungiu who manages to combine a history of institutional injustice.

Mara, a Romanian nurse, marries in a hurry in order to obtain her green card , which will allow her to live in the United States and bring her son Dragos to live with her. You find yourself on this trail when you have the misfortune to come across an official who jeopardizes your plan. It is a film that combines the best of the Romanian New Wave and American indie cinema.

Tully by Jason Reitman

In Tully , Marlo (Charlize Theron) is an exhausted mother of three who carries the burden of a preteen daughter, a son with special needs, and a newborn girl. To make matters worse, her husband is unable to help her with the challenge.

Marlo accepts the proposal of her brother, much richer than her, who offers her a babysitter to take care of her baby at night. Tully is the babysitter who comes into her life like a revolution. This is where the film, in both comedy and tragedy tones, explores what some mothers may feel when they feel that their youth and dreams have been lost forever.