Unlike other artistic expressions, cinema has given us the opportunity to explore the different veins of human psycho-emotionality in a much more punctual, diverse, sometimes raw and other times visceral way, but above all free.
This is thanks to film portraits that are often fictitious or imaginary, others not so much, most of the time dramatic or tragicomic, and even in certain cases in a way that is extremely brave and outside the canons, prejudices and common places.
The mother figure has not been exempt from this complex exploration.
This meticulous selection around the vicissitudes of being a mother is a clear example of that depth, multiplicity of visions and emotions, as well as a golden opportunity to better understand with mother, through one of the great passions of art, culture and entertainment: the cinema.
1. All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk. United States, 1955)
What happens when mom's love intersects with her personal happiness and is personified by a dubious suitor, who seems more like an opportunist than a full-fledged lover?
In this classic melodrama starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, a wealthy woman falls in love with her gardener, sparking jealousy and bad blood from both her sons and their friends, who won't stay. with arms crossed.
Although the story is predictable and full of clichés of the time, the form, the tone and the performances commanded by director Douglas Sirk make it memorable, iconic, full of temper, showing a female character who finds herself at the crossroads of make a final decision between personal love and that of their children.
2. Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman. Belgium, 1975)
Originally titled Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, the third feature film by the iconic Belgian filmmaker -a sharp critical observer of female identity, sexual roles, everyday life and the politics of exclusion- shows us, through prolonged and static sequence shots, the suffocating daily life for three days of a widowed mother, Delphine Seyrig, where we can see the dalliances of her existence: the lack of communication with her son, her role as a housewife, as well as the sexual services that lends in the building where he lives to make ends meet, as well as the persistence and intensity of certain gestures, which gradually reveal the truth and being of the character.
Considered a definitive pillar of feminist cinema and of Akerman's work, this film, close to a video essay, raises a vital question about the role of women in contemporary society: how to awaken or present in a leading voice those who have historically been in a secondary place, at best?
Jeanne Dielman speaks to us about that "other working life", that of the home that is supported by third parties, almost always men (children, husband, government).
3. Napló Gyermekeimnek (Diary for my children. Márta Mészáros. Hungary, 1984)
Another of the referents of female cinema, that of the Hungarian Márta Mészáros stands out for its critical force and nonconformity.
In the case of the first film of her autobiographical trilogy, the position against the male yoke and orphanhood, in times of totalitarian regimes in times of war, to achieve independence and freedom, embodies a vital woman, a mother who sees herself at the difficult crossroads of making a decision, in the words of the director herself, “by herself and for herself”.
4. Braindead/ Dead Alive (Peter Jackson. New Zealand, 1992)
The cult of gender and independent viscerality that characterized director Peter Jackson before becoming the celebrated director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is well known to many.
And for example we have one of his most iconic and daring works, known in Spanish under the name of Tu Mama se Comió a mi Perro, which evokes in a terror and comedy key sick and possessive relationships with the mother, a recurring reminiscence in the cinema and that has its best exponent in Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock.
In Dead Alive, the mother figure (Elizabeth Moody) fears losing her son, Lionel Cosgrove (Timothy Balme), who lives to please mom at all times until the day he falls in love with a girl, Paquita (Diana Peñalver).
In this sardonic and hilarious film, not even death will stop the mother from having her son by her side, between blood, zombies and a lot of black humor in between.
5. All about my mother (Pedro Almodóvar. Spain/France, 1999)
If there is a director who has given himself the opportunity to delve into the different aspects of the mother figure through drama and humor, that is undoubtedly the director of Talk to her (2002), Return (2006) and Parallel Mothers (2021). ), Pedro Almodovar.
In Todo sobre mi madre, Manuela receives a severe blow and flees from present conflicts using the past.
A trip to Barcelona in search of the father of her son, who never knew of his existence, will be the vehicle for what is a tribute not only to the mother but also to the female figure, from the perspective of characters in strong situations, which They test their strengths and vulnerabilities.
6. Baby Mama (Michael McCullers. United States, 2008)
Under the wit and edge for the on-screen comedy of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Baby Mama is a light and funny reflection on late fertility in single women, a condition that leads our protagonist to hire a "carrier mother" service to consummate the mother's dream.
The chosen one (Poehler), longs to be a fashion designer, so both women will work together both to bring a child into the world and to mature and learn from each other.
The wisdom of this comedy, often branded as a predictable story but with a solid development, works in a humane and accessible way to enter a recurring theme in the contemporary world, around the multiple forms of motherhood.
7. Mommy (Xavier Dolan. Canada, 2014)
When the Canadian director, screenwriter and actor Xavier Dolan was not yet 30 years old, his fifth feature film brought us back to the screen, in a much more visceral and forceful way, his eternal obsession with the problematic relationships with the mother figure, already before explored in his debut film J'ai tué ma mère (I killed mom. Canada, 2009).
In Mommy, the soapy relationship between Diane (Anne Dorval) and her uncontrollable fifteen-year-old offspring Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), borders on a dependence on complicity rather than authority or ideal love formation, where the roles of both are are scattered, replaced by expletives, shouts, violent gestures and a vast menu of nonsense, which in the end are the frank vehicle of the love professed between the two.
8. Amazon (Clare Weiskopf and Nicolas van Hemelryck. Colombia 2016)
Few films about motherhood and its absence from the frankness and courage of the documentary like this one.
When Clare Weiskopf, the director of this film, was only 11 years old, she said goodbye to her mother, who chose to give up motherhood for a life where the priority was the individual being in freedom.
A film not exempt from maternal love and tenderness under well-achieved poetic moments, Amazona is also a story of confrontation and reconciliation from different paths, both between its characters and with the viewer;
a fertile ground for discussion about those difficult life decisions.
9. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman. United States/United Kingdom, 2020)
Although at first glance the first feature film by the American filmmaker Eliza Hittman seems like another adolescent drama about unwanted motherhood and abortion, the skill, responsibility and sensitivity with which her story and characters are articulated make this a raw film. heartfelt and dramatic, but approached from a much simpler, more direct place and, above all, human empathy;
a journey full of friendship, courage and compassion.
In Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Autumn Callahan (Sidney Flanigan), an introverted 17-year-old discovers that she is 10 weeks pregnant.
Despite the fact that she immediately tries to interrupt her situation, embarking on a cumbersome journey in the company of her best friend, the protagonist will encounter more than one difficulty in achieving her company.
10. Petite Maman (Celine Sciamma, 2021)
Nelly is eight years old and has just lost her grandmother.
While she helps her parents to clean out the house where her mother grew up, the little girl curiously explores the surrounding forest, where her mother used to play as a child.
There, Nelly meets, in an almost unlikely way, another girl her age, triggering a fictional story within reality itself, full of love, trips to the past and personal confessions;
a simple, diaphanous and extremely sensitive film in its apparent “miniature”.