Aside from all the incredible action it delivers, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is, more than anything, a powerful study of grief, loss, and love. While Ryan Coogler's film provides the regular MCU enthusiast with a good dose of exciting adventure and thrilling twists, it also reflects on the importance of family bonds, beautifully highlighting the true significance behind the word.
Blood ties are not an unusual theme when it comes to the film industry. Throughout the years, audiences have been presented with a wide range of family stories, whether bonded by blood or not. Here we gather 10 touching movies that reflect on family connections and beam with meaning.
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' (2022)
Post the death of King (played by the late Chadwick Boseman to perfection), the people of Wakanda assemble to fight and protect their home from intervening forces in Marvel's most recent phase four addition.
The new Black Panther entry has been continuously praised for its depiction of grief and loss, which is something it manages to do perfectly. However, it also subtly deals with the painful but reinvigorating healing journey. The new Coogler film tackles the importance of holding on to treasured memories and ultimately showcases how much stronger a family is when it stands together.
'Encanto' (2021)
Long story short, Disney's Colombian tale Encanto focuses on the struggles of a girl who has to constantly face the frustrations of being the only member of her family without any magical abilities. While the magic of Encanto has blessed the Madrigals with superpowers, Mirabel feels powerless and meaningless.
2022's Byron Howard and Jared Bush's film reflects on intergenerational trauma, forgiveness, and on how different the same family members can be. It also highlights that strength is not determined by other people's understanding of it.
'Interstellar' (2014)
Following the story of Matthew McConaughey's Cooper, a trained NASA pilot who is recruited to pilot a spaceship on an Interstellar journey through a wormhole in space to ensure mankind's survival, Christopher Nolan's 2014 sci-fi wonderfully explores love and human connection.
While Nolan's thought-provoking space movie Interstellar is extremely heartbreaking, it is equally heart-warming. It is very clear from the beginning that Interstellar focuses on the forceful bond between Cooper and his children, particularly with his daughter Murphy who was emotionally played by Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, and Ellen Burstyn.
'Roma' (2018)
Alfonso Cuarón's stunning Academy-award-winning drama feature is set in the early '70s and centers around Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), one of two domestic workers who help middle-class couple Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and Sofía (Marina de Tavira) take care of their four children in Mexico City.
Cuarón's movie offers so much more than gorgeous black and white setting; filled with powerful performances, this touching picture that tackles \ privilege and poverty also celebrates familial love in all its authenticity, depicting a very moving and realistic look on motherhood.
'Little Women' (2019)
Little Women (directed by Greta Gerwig) is yet another wonderful movie adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's groundbreaking novel of the same name. Centering around the treasured story of the four different March sisters, this timeless tale takes viewers on an emotional ride through 1860s Massachusetts.
The importance of family is certainly a strong, recurring theme in May Alcott's novel — and it is showcased beautifully in Gerwig's take on the tale. Although the beloved story sends out many important messages (including the pressure of marriage placed on women and the struggles they faced when pursuing their goals), the power of familial connections, particularly the intimacy of sisterhood bonds, is a major highlight.
'Coco' (2017)
Pixar's prized Mexican tale, Coco revolves around young Miguel, an aspiring musician who is forbidden to play or sing as a consequence of his family's ancestral ban on music. Striving to make his way through the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather (a legendary singer), Miguel ends up learning some valuable lessons.
Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina's beautifully animated movie undoubtedly touches many hearts. While there are many things to retain from Coco, it mainly serves to audiences as a powerful reminder that there are very few things as strong, transcending, and unconditional as family love.
'Shoplifters' (2018)
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Hirokazu Koreeda's impressive Oscar-nominated film Shoplifters is about family being the people you choose. It follows a dysfunctional band of outcasts who find solace in working odd jobs and shoplifting and ultimately decide to take in a child they find outside in the cold after finding out signs of abuse.
This provocative Japanese movie is undoubtedly an essential watch — while it tackles the importance of finding your own people in the world, it also showcases the many ways one can define what the term "family" really means. Evoking many emotions, this beautiful story is told with raw genuineness and sentiment.
'The Farewell' (2019)
When Billi's (Awkwafina) grandmother (Shuzhen Zhao) is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she returns to her homecountry China as her family stages an impromptu wedding to see grandma — who is unaware of her own illness — one last time.
Much like Black Panther 2, Lulu Wang's The Farewell tackles grief and loss exquisitely through a family that struggles to keep a tragic secret. This deeply touching and soul-stirring movie with the family at its center reflects on familial bonds that remain incredibly strong no matter which adversities they may find themselves facing.
'Captain Fantastic' (2016)
Matt Ross' fantastic comedy-drama follows determined Ben (Viggo Mortensen) and his unconventional parenting. Striving to raise his six non-registered and homeschooled children with meticulous physical and intellectual education in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, Ben's peace is disturbed when he is forced to face the real world when unexpected events develop.
Also focusing on tragic events evolving highly sensitive themes, Captain Fantastic is an endearing piece of cinema that sends out a great message not only about family connection but also about the difficulties of being an effective parent when raising kids differently.
'Little Miss Sunshine' (2006)
Centering around an extremely strong-willed family and depicting the events of a family's long journey to get Olive (Abigail Breslin) into the finals of a beauty pageant, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' charming dark-comedy Little Miss Sunshine offers a very inspiring story with a very talented cast.
Aside from its amazing script and hilarious comedic bits, this critically acclaimed gem features extremely realistic and relatable characters. Throughout the film, the Hoovers (a slightly dysfunctional yet fascinating family) perfectly manage to win the audience over with their determination. Although they may be a conflicting family, they ultimately work together and support each other in order to solve the bigger problem.