It is incredibly difficult to process your emotions and feelings when dealing with the death of a loved one. Sometimes it can be comforting to watch someone else go through these complex feelings as it can help us to relate to them and understand that we’re not alone with our emotions.

It’s important to know that watching films that deal with themes of bereavement, grief, death, and loss can trigger our own emotions. You should ensure that you’re at a place where you’re ready to watch films that deal with these films.

We’ve compiled a list of films that deal with bereavement, grief, death, and loss in different ways. We hope that these films can help comfort you.

Up (2009)

Up is a film about Carl, an old widower who goes on an adventure to search for his wife’s dream destination – a promise that Carl promised his late wife. Whilst suffering from loss, Carl learns that he can live his life.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

After his brother’s death, Lee is made the guardian of Patrick, his 16-year-old nephew. This then forces Lee to move back to his hometown and confront his troubling past.

The Son’s Room (2001)

2001’s Festival de Cannes Palme d’Or winner is about the psychological effects on a family and their life after the death of their son, Andrea.  

Wings of Desire (1987)

Wings of Desire is a moving and beautiful film about the human condition. Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel watch over the streets of Berlin, whilst never directly interacting with the population, they try to provide invisible rays of hope to those who are distressed. The two angels watch over and listen to the thoughts of the many people who are feeling alienated and lonely.

Whilst Wings of Desire isn’t strictly about grief and bereavement, some themes touch closely with the feelings you experience when grieving.  

Three Colours: Blue (1993)

Three Colours: Blue is a film set in Paris, about a woman who struggles with the death of her husband and young daughter. She attempts to isolate herself from all her relationships and locks herself away in her apartment to suppress her grief. She later learns that avoiding human connections is impossible.

Ordinary People (1980)

Calvin and Beth are grieving and trying to return to normal life after the death of their oldest son, Buck and the attempted suicide of their younger son, Conrad. After returning home from a lengthy stay at a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his pain and reconnect with his mother and father.  

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Salvatore Di Vita returns late one evening in 1980’s Rome, where his girlfriend tells him that he missed a call from his mother to say that somebody named Alfredo had died and the funeral is tomorrow. Salvatore struggles with relationships and hasn’t seen his family or been back to his hometown in 30 years. His girlfriend asks him who Alfredo is, but he is unable to say and tells her to go back to sleep. Salvatore tries to go to sleep too but he can’t, we are then transported back in time to when he was a young boy as he reminisces about his youth and his friendship with Alfredo.

Cinema Paradiso doesn’t necessarily focus too much on grief, but it is about nostalgia and remembering the times you had with a loved one.

Rabbit Hole (2010)

Howie and Becca (played by Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman) try to cope with grief after losing their son, Danny in a car accident. Their relationship begins to deteriorate as Howie attends a self-help group and Becca finds solace in the driver that killed their son.

Truly Madly Deeply (1990)

Truly Madly Deeply is about a woman who is struggling to deal with the sudden death of her partner, his ghost then magically appears and moves back into her flat.

She then meets somebody new and has to choose between living in the past or finding new love.

The Descendants (2011)

After his wife goes into a coma, Matt King tries to unite with his two daughters.

Ponette (1996)

The film centres around a 4-year-old Ponette whose mother dies in a car accident that left Ponette with a broken arm. Her father leaves her with her aunt and cousins, and later the children are all sent to a boarding school. At school, Ponette finds the loss of her mother even harder as she is teased on the playground for not having a mother.