Films on Grief- How Watching Them Can Help

February 21, 2020


Although no one’s experience of grief is ever the same, sometimes watching films that portray similar emotions can be comforting.

Here is a list of movies that address different elements of grief and explore the human experience of loss. Watching films with your young children can also help them to understand that the emotions they are feeling are completely natural and that they are not alone.

These films can help show the different angles and paths that grief can take. They show how everyone experiences grief in their own way and how grief can change within members of the same family.

Children and Loss

  • Finding Nemo (2003)
  • Up (2009)
  • The Lion King (1994)
  • Old Yeller (1957)
  • Fly Away Home (1996)
  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)
  • The Descendants (2011)

Loss of a Child

  • Rabbit Hole (2010)
  • Remember Me (2010)
  • The Lovely Bones (2009)
  • Manchester By The Sea (2016)
  • Angela’s Ashes (2000)
  • Ordinary People (1980)
  • Still Walking (2008)
  • What Dreams May Come True (1998)
  • Collateral Beauty (2016)

Loss of a Friend

  • Beaches (1988)
  • Brokeback Mountain (2005)
  • Miss You Already (2016)
  • The Bucket List (2007)
  • Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Loss of a Parent / Grandparent

  • Big Fish (2004)
  • In Her Shoes (2005)
  • Finding Neverland (2004)
  • Beginners (2010)
  • Save The Last Dance (2001)
  • What We Did On Our Holiday (2014)
  • The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

Loss of a Sibling

  • Walk the Line (2006)
  • Little Women (1994)
  • A River Runs Through It (1992)

Loss of a Spouse

  • A Single Man (2009)
  • Ghost (1990)
  • Titanic (1997)
  • PS I Love You (2007)
  • My Life (1993)
  • About Schmidt (2005)
  • Good Will Hunting (1999)
  • Southpaw (2015)
  • We Bought a Zoo (2011)
  • Steel Magnolias (1989)
  • Truly Madly Deeply (1991)
  • Terms of Endearment (1983)
  • Monsters Ball (2001)
  • Things We Lost In The Fire (2007)
  • Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Although some might find it tough to watch films that centre around the death of a loved one, others can find it healing. Despite grief sometimes being such an overwhelming concept that is sometimes indescribable, some films have managed to accurately portray the range of emotions people can experience in an honest way.

During difficult times, watching these films on grief can also be a source of escapism. It allows you to be immersed completely into another world and can sometimes help you word and express your feelings that you are finding difficult to communicate with others.

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