Can I tell you what I want for Mother’s Day? I mean, I want a lot of things (including gifts, yes please) but I’d really love a day to just sit down and watch the TV and movies I can’t watch because I’m too busy otherwise. And I really wish I could have day of rest with my own mother – to enjoy our love of movies together while noshing on some popcorn.
My mother is all the way in Israel, and I am here in the States, so while I can’t watch any movies with her, here is a list of movies all about Jewish mothers and their children.
“I just watched this beautiful documentary,” my mom told me, her voice full of emotion, during a recent phone conversation. “It was about this Jewish woman whose mom was a hoarder…” I knew exactly what movie she meant. Judith Helfand’s “Love & Stuff,” which shows the filmmaker trying to sort through her mother’s “stuff” after she passed on, is one of the most beautiful, unique, emotional viewing experiences I’ve had.
Is there a more iconic mother-son duo than Steven Spielberg and the late Leah Adler? This movie, which is based on the filmmaker’s touching relationship with his larger-than-life mom, movingly played by Michelle Williams, may be the best ode to a Jewish mother ever made.
“The Prince of Tides” (Paramount+)
Justice for Barbra Streisand! Just like Greta Gerwig, she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for directing this much-beloved film about a complex relationship between a Jewish therapist and her patient. The movie also features Barbra’s real-life son, Jason Gould, playing her onscreen child.
If you need a distracting easy watch, this movie about a group of mom-friends of grown children may have a bit of a stereotypical portrayal of a Jewish mom, portrayed by queen Patricia Arquette, but it’s still quite delightful and a mostly light watching experience.
This surprisingly Jewish movie stars Bette Midler as the eccentric Jewish birth-mom of protagonist April (Helen Hunt) whose Judaism helps her through her IVF journey.
Helena Bonham-Carter plays a Jew-ish mother in this tearjerker of a biopic about Righteous Among Nations Nicholas Winton, who helped organize the Kindertransport and save hundreds of Jewish children during the Holocaust.
Debra Messing and Rhea Perlman both play darling Jewish moms in this Netflix musical about a young boy who moves from New York to a small town and tries to organize his bar mitzvah among peers who know very little about the Jewish rite of passage.
This Israeli movie tells the story of one brave Jewish mom who was killed while defending her kibbutz during Israel’s War of Independence.
“A Tale of Love and Darkness” (Rent on YouTube)
Natalie Portman’s directorial debut is based on the novel of the same name by Amos Oz, which is an ode to his Jewish mother living in Mandatory Palestine.
In this old Hallmark gem, Susie Essman plays a pretty stereotypical but incredibly loving Orthodox Jewish mom of a religious young widow who winds up falling for her late husband’s secular brother.
“Ester Steinberg: Burning Bush” (Amazon Prime)
This very Jewishly-named comedy special gets so real about the process of labor and I love it so much!
