Shubhabrata Dutta
The best thing about OTT platforms is that they offer an extensive buffet of movies from across the world showcasing relationships that bind us all together via the thread of emotions. Needless to say, many films address mother-daughter relationships from different angles. While we all have our choices and selections, in this article, we bring some of the best movies that Netflix offers and showcase mother-daughter relationships, each in a different manner.
15. A Family Affair (2024)
A movie that is as much a mom-daughter flick as it is a rom-com, Richard LaGravenese’s ‘A Family Affair’ follows 24-year-old Zara Ford (Joey King), who gets the shock of her life when she finds out that her widowed mom, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), and her hateful boss/Hollywood star Chris Cole (Zac Efron) are dating.
As Zara tries to keep the two away from each other, her relationship with her mother is affected. Can she really afford that, or should she give her mother a chance to be in love again? ‘A Family Affair’ is an otherwise regular rom-com that is watchable only due to the lead actors and the chemistry they bring to the screen. The movie can be watched here.
14. Mother of the Bride (2024)
Things get super awkward for Lana (Brooke Shields), whose daughter Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) informs her that she has decided to marry her boyfriend RJ (Sean Teale). This is because Lana and Emma have been on their own since Emma’s father died when Emma was not even ten. The families meet at a Phuket resort, and things get worse for Lana when she finds out that RJ’s father is Will Jackson (Benjamin Bratt), her ex-boyfriend from college days, who disappeared one fine day. After so many years, Lana is emotionally shocked while Emma tries to make her understand that she has to let her daughter go and take care of herself. With two parallel love stories and a mom-daughter relationship acting as the beam, ‘Mother of the Bride,’ directed by Mark Waters, is a nice binge-watch. You can stream it here.
13. Black Crab (2022)
This Adam Berg-directed Swedish action thriller is based on Jerker Virdborg’s 2002 novel ‘Svart Krabba’ (English translation: Black Crab). It follows a mother, Edh (Noomi Rapace), desperately searching for her daughter Vajna (Stella Marcimain Klintberg) in the aftermath of a war. Her search makes her part of a special task force that is supposed to deliver a secret package to a research base, but they must cross the ice-covered Stockholm Archipelago. What pushes her to say yes to the mission is the chance to get to her daughter, who has been found in a refugee camp on the other end of the frozen sea. Will she be able to survive in the old while being under continuous risk of getting shot and killed by the enemies? Will the will of a mother triumph over the fear of death? To find out, you can watch ‘Black Crab’ here.
12. Moxie (2021)
‘Moxie’ follows 16-year-old Vivian Carter, who takes a stand against sexism at her school after being dormant for a long time. This encouragement and inspiration came to her after coming across her mother’s feminist zines, and she started her own zine named “Moxie.” The aim is to call out mistreatment towards girls and give them a voice that is heard. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu, ‘Moxie’ stars Hadley Robinson as Vivian, Amy Poehler, the director of the movie, as Vivian’s mother, Alycia Pascual-Peña, Lauren Tsai, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Sydney Park. You can watch the movie here.
11. Miss Juneteenth (2020)
Directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples, this mom-daughter film follows hard-working mom/former Miss Juneteenth pageant winner Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie), struggling to make ends meet. She enters her daughter, 15-year-old Kai (Alexis Chikaeze), into the pageant despite Kai’s interest in dance. Is Turquoise right to try to relive her dream through her daughter? Will Kai let her mother’s dream become her dream? Heartwarming and moving, ‘Miss Juneteenth’ is a multiple-award-winning drama you can watch here.
10. The Mother (2023)
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, and Joseph Fiennes, ‘The Mother’ is an action thriller directed by Niki Caro. It tells the story of an operative codenamed “the Mother” who is attacked by an enemy during an interrogation by the FBI. She manages to escape, albeit wounded, and later on, gives birth to a premature girl. Worried that she won’t be safe with her, she leaves the baby with a special agent and goes into hiding.
However, 12 years later, a threat to her daughter, who has been named Zoe by her foster parents, brings her out of hiding. And when Zoe is kidnapped, she rescues her and brings her to a safe house in Alaska, training her and sharpening and honing her skills. After all, one should always be prepared for danger. Through the training, we see how the estranged relationship slowly spirals into a love-hate one and eventually brings the two women closer. You can stream the film here.
9. Dumplin (2018)
Directed by Anne Fletcher, ‘Dumplin’ is a coming-of-age comedy starring Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston in the leads. It tells the story of Willowdean “Will” Dickson, the plus-size teenage daughter of Rosie, a former beauty queen of their Texas town, and the present planner of the town’s annual Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant.
However, Will doesn’t like it when her mother calls her “Dumplin” as it signifies her appearance. One day, she finally decides to take part in the pageant to protest against it and retaliate to how she feels about people judging her for her weight. Seeing her, other plus-size teenage girls take part too. While we see how the small Texas town gets a revolutionized pageant, the movie also showcases how the mother slowly realizes her mistakes in understanding her child, ultimately bringing them closer. A fun-to-watch movie, you can stream ‘Dumplin’ here.
8. 18 Presents (2020)
Directed by Francesco Amato, ‘18 Presents’ is an Italian drama about a mother-daughter relationship that transcends physical bonding. We see a mother, Elisa (Vittoria Puccini), who gives birth to a baby girl, Anna, but passes away soon after due to breast cancer. However, she leaves her daughter 18 gifts for one birthday until Anna (Benedetta Porcaroli) grows 18. Through the gifts, Anna gets to know Elisa, her love for her, and the sacrifices she made. As sweet as it is, one cannot deny the pain, anger, and regret that each gift carries. While the gifts are a way for Anna to feel the presence of her mother in her life, they are also a reminder that she will never see her. You can stream this emotional drama right here.
7. American Girl (2021)
Fiona Roan Feng-i’s multiple award-winning Taiwanese slice-of-life drama ‘American Girl’ is based on her own experiences during her upbringing and her relationships. The film is set during the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak of 2003. It centers on a 13-year-old girl named Fen Liang (Caitlin Fang) who has to return to Taiwan from Los Angeles with her sister, Ann (Audrey Lin), and mother, Lily (Karena Lam Ka-yan), after Lily is diagnosed with breast cancer. The trio joins the family patriarch Huay (Kaiser Chuang Kai-hsun), whose work has kept him in Taiwan.
Fen’s relationship with his ailing mom is paid special attention to, underscored by the other issues she has been facing, including culture shock, bullying at school, and her inability to make sense of her mother’s diagnosis. The film explores a short but unstable period showcased is a compelling manner from the POV of an uprooted teenager trying to deal with an impending tragedy and the uncertainty that a new home brings. You can watch the drama right here.
6. Sunday’s Illness (2018)
Ramon Salazar has directed this Spanish film, which stars Bárbara Lennie and Susi Sánchez. The undercurrents of the mother-daughter relationship showcased in the movie are sublimely complex and are left to the audience to perceive. In the film, we see Anabel, whose daughter Chiara, whom she abandoned when the latter was only eight years old, returns after 30 years with a peculiar request. Chiara wants Anabel to spend ten days with her. While it sounds like a doable thing, what Anabel doesn’t know is Chiara’s request for her, which is scary and “life-changing,” to say the least. To find out what that is, you can stream the film here.
5. Awake (2021)
This Mark Raso directorial shows what happens when some unknown catastrophe disables everything that runs on electricity and takes away sleep from humanity. In other words, humanity is facing an unending insomnia. As people slowly start to lose their minds due to being unable to sleep, a mother struggles to find a safe place for her ten-year-old daughter, who seems to have the cure for worldwide insomnia. To find out whether the cure is manufactured, you can stream the film here.
4. I Am Mother (2019)
Directed by Grant Sputore, ‘I Am Mother’ is a cyberpunk flick starring Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne, and Hilary Swank. A commendable take on the mother-daughter relationship, the film is set in a dystopian future where we see an A. I named Mother to raise a female child named Daughter based on its own intelligence regarding ethics and morals. However, when a woman (human) breaches the bunker that Mother and Daughter are in, secrets come to the surface that seem to compromise Mother’s motives by raising doubts in Daughter’s mind. What secret is Mother hiding? Does Daughter find them out? Who is the mysterious woman? You can stream the film here to know the answers and what ultimately happens.
3. Enola Holmes (2020)
Directed by Harry Bradbeer, the movie is adapted from Nancy Springer’s ‘The Enola Holmes Mysteries’ novel series. It tells the story of Enola (Millie Bobby Brown), the sister of detectives Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft Holmes (Sam Claflin). Enola sets off on her mission to find her mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), who suddenly disappeared on the morning of Enola’s sixteenth birthday, leaving behind a handful of clues. While looking for her mother, she also comes across the young Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who is being chased by men bent on killing him.
While juggling between the two assignments of searching for her mum and helping Tewkesbury, she breaks the fourth wall to tell viewers about her mother and how she trained her in everything considered unlikely for a woman during the Victorian era. A treat to watch, both visually and emotionally, you can stream ‘Enola Holmes’ right here.
2. Tribhanga (2021)
‘Tribhanga’ explores the love-hate relationship between Anuradha (Kajol) and her estranged mother, Nayantara (Tanvi Azmi). As a single mother, Anuradha undergoes a string of feelings after Nayantara goes into a coma. Things get more intense because Anuradha’s daughter Masha (Mithila Palkar) is also involved in the dynamics. When Nayantara decides to write her autobiography, the past and present merge, bringing together three generations of women who are joined by blood but separated by secrets. A must-watch mom-daughter Bollywood drama, ‘Tribhanga’ has been directed by Renuka Sahane. You can watch it here.
1. The Lost Daughter (2021)
Starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley, and Ed Harris, ‘The Lost Daughter,’ written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a recipient of three Academy Award nominations. The film follows middle-aged university professor Leda Caruso (Colman), who meets young mother Nina (Johnson) and her 3-year-old daughter Elena while on a vacation in Greece. Nina’s exhaustion at bringing out her child reminds Leda of her own motherhood and the pain she underwent while bringing up her two daughters. This takes the shape of her obsession with the mother-daughter duo, which even makes her get involved in their dynamic. What happens then? To find out, you can watch this psychological drama here.
Read More: Best Father Daughter Movies on Netflix
