One Big Not-So-Happy Family
Some of my favorite films featuring not-so-happy, (relatively) big families.
Not necessarily dysfunctional and ultra sad, just not that "Brady Bunch-ish."
Not necessarily dysfunctional and ultra sad, just not that "Brady Bunch-ish."
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- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorEddie RomeroStarsFernando Poe Jr.Amalia FuentesChristopher De LeonFlashbacks encompass the history of the Philippines as well as the life story of the elderly Daniel Aguila. The Aguila family gathers to celebrate Daniel's 88th birthday, but the old man is nowhere to be seen--he has been missing for a decade. Suspecting that his father is in Mindanao, one of his sons takes off for that region in a determined search. Along the way, his memories of the nation and his father's life tell the story of 80 tumultuous years of personal and historical development.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEmily WatsonRobert CarlyleJoe BreenAn Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsRahul KhannaMoushumi ChatterjeeDina PathakA wealthy East Indian man gives an apparently non-East Indian woman a crash course in his culture, so he can marry her with his family's approval.
- DirectorAndré TéchinéStarsIsabelle AdjaniMarie-France PisierIsabelle HuppertIn a small presbytery in Yorkshire, living under the watchful eyes of their aunt and father, a strict Anglican pastor, the Bronte sisters write their first works and quickly become literary sensations.
- DirectorBruno NuyttenStarsIsabelle AdjaniGérard DepardieuMadeleine RobinsonCamille Claude impresses already-famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. He hires her as an assistant, but soon Camille begins to sculpt for herself and she also becomes his mistress. But after a while, she would like to get out of his shadow.
- DirectorArnaud DesplechinStarsCatherine DeneuveJean-Paul RoussillonMathieu AmalricThe troubled Vuillard family is no stranger to illness, grief, and banishment, but when their matriarch requires a bone-marrow transplant, the estranged clan reunites just in time for Christmas.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsAna TorrentConchita PérezMayte SanchezIn the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonLiv UllmannKari SylwanWhen a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeIngrid ThulinHelmut GriemThe dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.This film is kinda like The Godfather set in Nazi Germany.
- DirectorKirk JonesStarsRobert De NiroKate BeckinsaleSam RockwellA widower who realized his only connection to his family was through his wife sets off on an impromptu road trip to reunite with each of his grown children.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoDiane KeatonAndy GarciaFollows Michael Corleone, now in his 60s, as he seeks to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternAn eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorJodie FosterStarsHolly HunterAnne BancroftRobert Downey Jr.After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her family.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRob LoweJodie FosterPaul McCraneA New Englander and his odd family run a hotel in Vienna, as unexpected events change their lives forever.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsAnthony HopkinsEmma ThompsonVanessa RedgraveSet in the early 20th century, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationship between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsKevin KlineJoan AllenSigourney WeaverIn suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsDiane KeatonGeraldine PageKristin GriffithThree sisters find their lives spinning out of control in the wake of their parents' sudden, unexpected divorce.