Who is a Mother but a self-sacrificing angel? The one who wakes up when the world is asleep, the one who forgoes the last bite, if either of them mean you get to eat that day. Whether you are close to your Mother or have always experienced some kind of friction with her growing up, here are five of my favorite movies on Motherhood that gave me a new perspective on the pangs of parenting.
A Mother is a pure soul. Or at least we hope she is. She can do no wrong, especially not to her children. I’m not sure who gave them such a crushing responsibility. While we don’t remember much of our Mothers and how they were while we were growing up, only they know what they had to deal with emotionally and mentally to take care of us, all the while silently sacrificing their own needs and desires.
The Lost Daughter is a story about Leda, a woman in her late 40s who goes on a vacation all by herself. She encounters a tired young Mother called Nina on the trip who reminds her of her own days as a young Mother. Leda holds quite a lot of resentment and guilt towards her approach to parenting, which becomes all the more painful as she watches Nina struggle to do her best. Leda was what you wouldn’t call an “ideal” Mother. But, is that so bad?
Favorite line: When Nina tries to understand Leda’s unnatural yet understandable approach to Motherhood.
Leda to Nina: "I came back because I couldn't bear it anymore. I was suffocating... but I missed them. I missed them so much it hurt. But I also came back because I'm selfish. I left because I wanted to feel alive, to feel like I existed outside of them. And I came back because even in my freedom, I couldn't escape being their mother. I was just selfish in both directions."
Are Mothers always bound to love their children unconditionally? What if the child is difficult to raise or worse even, what if the Mother is still finding a way to come to terms with an unforeseen tragedy and doesn’t understand herself, let alone the poor child?
The Babadook is a single Mother’s tale on navigating through grief and trauma. I have to say, it is a difficult watch, not for everyone. It starts with the little boy finding a scary bedtime story book, the words of which seem to slowly consume the already depressed Mother, blurring lines between insanity and reality. Is the child bad for being odd or is the Mother bad for pleading him to be normal?
Favorite line: An admission of a bad moment and feeling the need to apologize to a child can have a profound effect on them.
The Mother to the Son: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Samuel.”
Have you ever had your Mother literally have something to say about anything you do. Like, it’s impossible to make her happy. But you still keep up the redundant act of winning her approval?
Evelyn, the Mother in the story is always hard on her daughter Joy. She doesn’t approve of anything that Joy does and constantly criticizes her. Joy tries to reason with her but in vain. One day, Evelyn finds herself jumping across verses and donning different professions and roles in each Universe. The reason for all this is to stop a cruel villain trying to destroy everything. The movie teaches us so much about unconventional family dynamics and generational trauma but most importantly, how no choice we wish we had made guarantees any more Joy (pun intended).
Favorite line: The complicated dynamic between Mothers and Daughters on how the Daughter is all the Mother ever wanted to be and the Mother is all the Daughter ever will be.
Joy to Evelyn: “We’re both stuck, Mom. Stuck in this endless cycle of trying to be enough, for each other and for ourselves.”
There are things that Mothers do sometimes maybe out of fear or maybe out of selfishness like hold you hostage in a castle far away from any form of life saying it’s all for the greater good. Yeah no, I’ve never experienced that. I know it’s not relatable. But what if sometimes Mothers unintentionally just make us do something that might be detrimental to us?
Tangled is a Disney animation movie about one of my favorite princesses of all time, Rapunzel. She is known for her long, luscious hair but also for staying away from people for a really long time. Again, totally not relatable. On a serious note though, I do think that although the movie is a fun and quirky watch and typically intended for children, it does capture the essence of the over-bearing Mother pretty well. The narcissism, the manipulation, the controlling, the wonderfully charismatic in a sinister way kind of Mother.
Favorite line: A line that depicts how the Mother always needs to have an upper hand. In everything.
Mother Gothel: "I love you very much dear."
Rapunzel: "I love you more Mother."
Mother Gothel: "And I love you most.”
Remember how I said Mothers are sacrificing in the beginning? Well this movie is all about that and the lengths to which a Mother can go to ensure her child is safe. Another dark movie which might not be for everyone but it’s actually one of my absolute favorites. It’s commendable how our Mothers might have had a terrible experience in something when they were younger and try everything in their willpower to not let us experience the same.
Dark Water is about a single Mother Dahlia, who tries to navigate life in a new part of the city with her little girl, while going through unresolved trauma of her own and struggling not to let it affect her child. All this when there exists an ominous presence among the two of them. I remember watching this particular movie at a disturbingly young age and my Mother receiving bucket loads of love and affection from me for the whole week.
Favorite line: Spoiler Alert
“I’ll be your Mother. Please take me.”
Images from: Pinterest
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