On-Screen Moms We Love & Cherish

Mothers are an identity, a relationship, an individual but what are mothers actually like? Let’s take a step back and see the bigger picture. This Mother’s Day, take a few hours out of your schedule and indulge in a mother-daughter bonding with some of the best shining mothers on screen.

From the Oscar award-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once to the heart-warming Disney animated film Tarzan, line up your favorites and get your popcorns ready.

Image Courtesy of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.

When it comes to mother figures, it’s impossible not to include Everything, Everywhere All At Once. Telling the story from a mother’s perspective, the film revolves around the story of a war between a Chinese-American immigrant mother and daughter.

To zoom in closely on the film’s mother-daughter relationship, the tension between Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) and her only daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is the driving emotional force. Like any teenage kid – Joy is young and angry and the only thing she wants is for her mother to understand her but unfortunately their cultural distance and misunderstandings cause them both immense pain.

At the end of the film, Evelyn’s strong determination to save the world showed a bright side of her – She demonstrates perseverance which transformed her into a braver and understanding individual. She’ll do anything to save and reconnect with her daughter Joy because after all, she is her mother.

Image Courtesy of Kill Boksoon

Killing other people is easier than raising a child.

Recently premiered at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, the Netflix film Kill Boksoon is a Korean action thriller that’s reminiscent of the well-known John Wick movie.

Not your typical cliche sweet and loving mom, Boksoon (Jeon Do-Yeon) is a single mother to teenage daughter Gil Jae-Young (Kim Si-a) by day and high-stake assassin by night. She is every bit of the empowered woman – a star employee and confident go-getter unfazed by the double duties of work and family. Beneath the gore that follows is a story about sacrifice and understanding. From the two characters’ search for acceptance emerges a tender mother-daughter bond worth its weight in blood.

Image Courtesy of Tarzan

No matter where I go, you will always be my mother.

Who would’ve thought that an ape could raise a human baby like her own? This moving story shows the relationship of a mother ape and an orphaned English infant. This movie brings to light that “anybody could be a mom, but it takes someone special to be called mom”. She’s the quintessential adoptive mother determined to give Tarzan a better life - raising him wholeheartedly even if it meant losing everything. In short, Kala is one of animation’s compassionate and selfless moms that showers her son with unconditional love.

Image Courtesy of Where’d you go Bernadette

I can pinpoint that as the single happiest moment of my life, because I realized then that Mom would always have my back.

Where’d You Go Bernadette is all about a mother’s journey to rediscovering herself outside of motherhood. Like any mother would do, Bernadette (Cate Blanchett) fell into the pattern of putting everyone else’s needs before her own. She sacrificed her dreams of being an architect after a fraught transition into motherhood and one crushing professional setback.

Both mother and daughter prioritized each other and had a strong bond. Her daughter Bee (Emma Nelson) resolves to help her find new purpose in life and confront the greatest failure of her past. Inspired by her daughter and friends, Bernadette navigated her way out and was determined to regain confidence in herself - igniting her passion for arts once again.

Image Courtesy of Forest Gump

I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your mama. I did the best I could.

Forrest Gump is an instant classic that never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. As the saying goes – “Behind every successful man is a wise, loving mother”. Mrs. Gump (Sally Field) is a perfect definition of a mother who persevered against all odds. Despite being a single mom, she knew her son was different but that didn’t hold her back from dreaming big for him. She dedicates herself to giving her son a normal life – encouraging him to explore the world and convincing him that he’s just as good as everybody else.

While for Forrest (Tom Hanks), he’s definitely a momma’s boy who’ve always kept his mom’s advice and easy-to-remember phrases close to his heart, which gave him comfort and direction in life.