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SevenPonds / Loss of a Family Member Movies

Loss of a Family Member Movies

Losing parents, siblings, or other family members creates unique grief. These films understand those special bonds and explore how families move forward, remember, and continue loving after a loss.

Promotional image from the HBO documentary “My Mom Jayne,” featuring Mariska Hargitay in a film still exploring the life and legacy of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield.

"My Mom Jayne"

By

Every family has stories that are told, stories that are forgotten and stories that remain just out of reach. For Marisk…

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"Grave of the Fireflies"

By Isao Takahata

Isao Takahata’s 1988 masterpiece “Grave of the Fireflies,” produced by Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, is cons…

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"A Ghost Story"

By David Lowery

Capturing the unique emotional experience of grief poses a challenge for any filmmaker. Typical movies attempting to dep…

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"Aporia"

By Jared Moshe

“Aporia,” directed by Jared Moshe, presents a fresh take on the time travel genre. It also shows us how grief can affect…

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cover of the lovely bones

"The Lovely Bones"

By Peter Jackson

“The Lovely Bones” (2009) should have and could have been a good film. Co-written and directed by Peter Jackson, who’s b…

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"Okko's Inn"

By Kitaro Kosaka

“Okko’s Inn” is a 2018 anime film on Netflix directed by Kitaro Kosaka, based on a series of children’s novels written b…

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"God Knows Where I Am"

By Jedd and Todd Wider

“God Knows Where I Am,” a documentary produced and directed by Jedd and Todd Wider, is the tragic and sometimes shocking…

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"Dead to Me"

By Liz Feldman

Imagine the antics of Lucy and Ethel without Desi and Fred — played out through a much darker scenario of bereavement a…

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“A Love That Never Dies”

By Jimmy Edmonds and Jane Harris

This profoundly moving documentary was created by filmmakers Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds, whose son, Joshua, died in a…

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"Coco"

By Lee Unkrich

Every Pixar computer-animated film takes on a new artistic challenge. In “A Bug’s Life” the audience views the world the…

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The official poster of the film "What Dreams May Come," showing Robin Williams walking next to a dog in an orange background.

"What Dreams May Come"

By Vincent Ward

Few films are as imaginative and surreal as “What Dreams May Come.” From the very beginning, the film takes viewers thro…

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"The Lion King"

By Disney, Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers

When “The Lion King” first appeared in theaters in 1994, it was a cut above Disney’s prior animated feature films in ter…

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"Brother's Keeper"

By Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

Delbert and William Ward were brothers, living together in a tiny family farm house in the middle of rural Munnsville, N…

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"Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father"

By Kurt Kuenne

From the start, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a one-of-a-kind documentary. You have probably seen …

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"Up"

By Disney and Pixar

 Pixar is that magical Emeryville-based animation company that can do no wrong (except, perhaps, for the Cars franchise;…

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"Ponette"

By Jacques Doillon

In the American trailer for French director Jacques Doillon’s 1996 film “Ponette,” the narrator coolly clarifies that th…

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"One True Thing"

By Carl Franklin

As Mother’s Day 2014 approaches, we’re consider what we love and respect about the woman who has consistently given us s…

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"Elizabethtown"

By Cameron Crowe

Without a doubt, Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown helps us understand what it means to deal with loss and discover who you …

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"Amour"

By Michael Haneke

Austrian director Michael Haneke’s Oscar winning film is not easy, nor pleasurable to watch. Because one can’t just watc…

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"My Girl"

By Howard Zieff

After a more-than-twenty-year hiatus, I put on the movie My Girl this week, and I wasn’t prepared for how moved I would …

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"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

By Beinh Zeitlin

Death plays an important role in this film, on scales grand and personal. More than anything, this film celebrates South…

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"The Land before Time"

By Don Bluth

Here on the SevenPonds blog, we’ve reviewed many healing films and suggested many more (you can check out a full list of…

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"The Descendants"

By Alexander Payne

Amidst Oscar buzz and recent nominations, it seems only fitting to head to the movies this weekend. I’m sure it came as…

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"The Darjeeling Limited"

By Wes Anderson

Francis (Owen Wilson), Jack (Jason Schwartzman), and Peter (Adrien Brody) Whitman are brothers meeting on a train in Ind…

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"Random Hearts"

By Sydney Pollack

After suffering a personal tragic loss, I stumbled on the film “Random Hearts” one sleepless night. Despite expectations…

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