100 Films About Aging, Caregiving, and Family, Organized by What You're Going Through 🎬

Sometimes the way into the hard conversation is a movie on the couch. 🍿

Here are 100 films about aging, caregiving, and family, grouped by what you might be going through right now. Each one comes with a line on when to watch it, and a link to see where it's streaming.

Bookmark this page. Share it with your siblings. Pick one for this weekend. 👇

🧠 When their memory is slipping

For the first confusing phone call, the diagnosis, and everything after.

1. Familiar Touch (2024)
Watch this if a parent is moving into assisted living and you want to see it from their side, not yours. Where to watch

2. The Father (2020)
Watch this if you want to understand what dementia feels like from the inside. It will change how you answer the same question for the fifth time. Where to watch

3. Still Alice (2014)
Watch this if the diagnosis came early, and too young, and the whole family is still catching up. Where to watch

4. Away From Her (2006)
Watch this if you're a spouse watching your partner forget the marriage while you remember all of it. Where to watch

5. Iris (2001)
Watch this if you're married to someone whose brilliant mind is slipping, and you're doing the caring alone. Where to watch

6. The Iron Lady (2011)
Watch this if you've watched someone formidable become unsure of what day it is. Where to watch

7. What They Had (2018)
Watch this if your family is arguing about whether it's time for memory care. This is the one to watch with your siblings. Where to watch

8. Falling (2020)
Watch this if you're caring for a parent with dementia who was hard to love long before the diagnosis. Where to watch

9. Supernova (2020)
Watch this if you and your partner are facing early dementia together and deciding what the next years look like. Where to watch

10. The Notebook (2004)
Watch this if you want the romantic version first. It's also a surprisingly honest look at a spouse who visits every day. Where to watch

11. Lovely, Still (2008)
Watch this if you want a quiet late-life love story that lands hard for anyone who has watched memory fade. Where to watch

12. Robot & Frank (2012)
Watch this if you're debating in-home help or tech for a parent who insists they're fine on their own. Where to watch

13. Mr. Holmes (2015)
Watch this if you've watched a sharp mind fight hard to hold on to one last thing. Where to watch

14. Elizabeth Is Missing (2019)
Watch this if you want to see how dementia can make someone certain of things nobody else believes. Where to watch

15. Head Full of Honey (2018)
Watch this if a grandchild is part of the caregiving picture and sees things the adults don't. Where to watch

16. The Roads Not Taken (2020)
Watch this if you've spent a whole day shepherding a parent through appointments and chaos. Where to watch

17. Memories of Tomorrow (2006) [Japanese]
Watch this if the diagnosis arrived mid-career, with a mortgage and a job still on the line. Where to watch

18. Firefly Dreams (2001) [Japanese/English]
Watch this if a teenager in your family is spending time with an older relative who's losing their memory. Where to watch

19. Relic (2020)
Watch this if you need someone to name the fear out loud. It's a horror film, and the metaphor is exact. Where to watch

🤲 When you're the one doing the caring

For the person who became the default. Usually without anyone asking.

20. One True Thing (1998)
Watch this if you put your own life on hold to move home and care for a parent. Where to watch

21. Dad (1989)
Watch this if a health crisis just made you the one in charge of a parent you're only now getting to know. Where to watch

22. Aurora Borealis (2005)
Watch this if your grandparents are managing Parkinson's, dementia, and a new home aide, and you're the one who shows up. Where to watch

23. Diane (2018)
Watch this if you spend your days driving, dropping off, and checking on everyone except yourself. Where to watch

24. Still Mine (2012)
Watch this if a spouse is determined to keep their partner at home no matter what the rules say. Where to watch

25. Amour (2012) [French]
Watch this if you're caring for a spouse after a stroke. It's the hardest, truest film about it. Where to watch

26. Vortex (2021) [French]
Watch this if both parents are declining at the same time and each is trying to look after the other. Where to watch

27. A Separation (2011) [Persian]
Watch this if hiring in-home care for a parent with Alzheimer's put pressure on your marriage and your money. Where to watch

28. Marvin's Room (1996)
Watch this if one sibling has been caregiving for decades and the other just walked back in. Where to watch

29. Terms of Endearment (1983)
Watch this if a parent is still doing the caring, even for grown children. Where to watch

30. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Watch this if a parent had to give up the car keys and hired help feels like an insult. Where to watch

👯 When your siblings aren't pulling their weight

For the family group chat that goes quiet when it's time to decide.

31. The Savages (2007)
Watch this if you and a sibling suddenly have to place a parent you weren't close to. The most GrayBrief movie ever made. Where to watch

32. The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Watch this if your siblings are all still competing for a difficult parent's approval. Where to watch

33. August: Osage County (2013)
Watch this if a parent's decline brought everyone home and old wounds came with them. Where to watch

34. This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
Watch this if a death forced your siblings under one roof for longer than anyone wanted. Where to watch

35. The Family Fang (2015)
Watch this if your parents have always been unpredictable and you're the one cleaning up after them. Where to watch

36. The Humans (2021)
Watch this if the holiday table includes a grandparent with dementia and a lot nobody is saying. Where to watch

37. Two of Us (2019) [French]
Watch this if one family member is controlling access to a parent after a stroke. Where to watch

🥪 When you're caught in the middle

For raising kids and caring for parents in the same week. Sometimes the same afternoon.

38. Minari (2020) [English/Korean]
Watch this if a grandparent is moving in and three generations are sharing one roof. Where to watch

39. Mid-August Lunch (2008) [Italian]
Watch this if you somehow became the person everyone drops their older relatives off with. Where to watch

40. Parenthood (1989)
Watch this if you're parenting and being parented at the same time and nobody is doing it right. Where to watch

41. Dan in Real Life (2007)
Watch this if you're raising kids solo while the whole extended family weighs in. Where to watch

42. The Farewell (2019) [English/Mandarin]
Watch this if your family disagrees about whether to tell a grandparent the truth about their diagnosis. Where to watch

43. Everybody's Fine (2009)
Watch this if your parent wants more contact and you've been keeping the hard news from them. Where to watch

44. Tokyo Story (1953) [Japanese]
Watch this if you've realized you're too busy for your parents. It's the film the whole genre is built on. Where to watch

45. Still Walking (2008) [Japanese]
Watch this if you visit your parents less than you should and every visit feels heavier. Where to watch

46. 35 Shots of Rum (2008) [French]
Watch this if you're an adult child who lives close and is wondering what happens if you leave. Where to watch

47. Lucky Grandma (2019) [English/Mandarin]
Watch this if a grandparent refuses every plan you make for them. Where to watch

🏠 When "where will they live?" is the question

For the facility tours, the spare-room math, and the conversation nobody wants to start.

48. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005)
Watch this if a parent is lonely after moving somewhere new and needs to find their people. Where to watch

49. Quartet (2012)
Watch this if you're worried a retirement community will feel like the end. This one feels like a second act. Where to watch

50. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
Watch this if retirement didn't go as planned and a parent is considering something unconventional. Where to watch

51. Harry and Tonto (1974)
Watch this if a parent lost their home and is figuring out where they belong now. Where to watch

52. The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Watch this if a parent living with family keeps talking about going home. Where to watch

53. Cocoon (1985)
Watch this if you want a lighter take on retirement community life, with a little magic. Where to watch

💔 When the relationship was never easy

For caring for someone who didn't always care well for you.

54. I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
Watch this if duty and resentment are fighting for the same space in your head. Where to watch

55. Nothing in Common (1986)
Watch this if a parent you never liked now needs you. Where to watch

56. The Judge (2014)
Watch this if an ailing parent and years of unfinished business are landing at the same time. Where to watch

57. Nebraska (2013)
Watch this if a declining parent is fixated on one thing and you decide to just go along with it. Where to watch

58. Big Fish (2003)
Watch this if you're trying to know who your parent really was before it's too late. Where to watch

59. Krisha (2015)
Watch this if an estranged relative is coming back and nobody trusts it will go well. Where to watch

60. On Golden Pond (1981)
Watch this if a parent's memory is slipping and you still haven't had the conversation you need. Where to watch

🕯️ When it's time to say goodbye

For hospice, final wishes, and the time you have left.

61. The Descendants (2011)
Watch this if you're making end-of-life decisions for someone on life support. Where to watch

62. Blackbird (2019)
Watch this if a family member has chosen when to say goodbye and everyone is gathering. Where to watch

63. Everything Went Fine (2021) [French]
Watch this if a parent has asked you to help with something you're not sure you can do. Where to watch

64. Ikiru (1952) [Japanese]
Watch this if a diagnosis made someone ask what their life was for. Where to watch

65. Tuesdays with Morrie (1999)
Watch this if you want to spend the time you have left actually talking. Where to watch

66. The Bucket List (2007)
Watch this if someone wants to spend their last months living, not waiting. Where to watch

67. My Life (1993)
Watch this if someone wants to leave messages for a child or grandchild who won't get to know them. Where to watch

68. The Straight Story (1999)
Watch this if someone needs to make peace before the end, however slowly they have to get there. Where to watch

69. Get Low (2009)
Watch this if a parent wants to plan their own funeral and have their say first. Where to watch

70. After Life (1998) [Japanese]
Watch this if you're wondering which memories matter most. Where to watch

71. Departures (2008) [Japanese]
Watch this if you've never seen how gently death can be handled. Where to watch

72. The Leisure Seeker (2017)
Watch this if a parent wants one last adventure and the family thinks it's a terrible idea. Where to watch

73. Wild Strawberries (1957) [Swedish]
Watch this if someone is looking back at their whole life on one long drive. Where to watch

⚖️ When you're angry at how older people are treated

For the moments you realize the money and the rules weren't built for your family.

74. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Watch this if your parents may have to split up because nobody can take them both. Where to watch

75. Nomadland (2020)
Watch this if you're worried about getting older without enough money set aside. Where to watch

76. Umberto D. (1952) [Italian]
Watch this if a parent's pension no longer covers the rent. Where to watch

77. The Ballad of Narayama (1983) [Japanese]
Watch this if you want to think hard about what a society owes its elders. Where to watch

78. Plan 75 (2022) [Japanese]
Watch this if you want a near-future story that feels uncomfortably close. Where to watch

🌱 When you're thinking about your own next chapter

For the moment it hits you that you're next.

79. About Schmidt (2002)
Watch this if retirement took away someone's sense of who they are. Where to watch

80. Gran Torino (2008)
Watch this if a widowed parent is isolated and needs a reason to get up. Where to watch

81. Lucky (2017)
Watch this if someone who's lived alone for decades is facing mortality their own way. Where to watch

82. The Hero (2017)
Watch this if a diagnosis is forcing someone to look back at their choices. Where to watch

83. 45 Years (2015)
Watch this if a long marriage is being tested late in the game. Where to watch

84. The Wife (2017)
Watch this if a lifetime of sacrifice is finally coming to the surface. Where to watch

85. Venus (2006)
Watch this if someone refuses to stop wanting things just because they're old. Where to watch

86. I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)
Watch this if a widowed parent is ready to start again, and that surprises everyone. Where to watch

87. The Whales of August (1987)
Watch this if two older sisters are working out who takes care of whom. Where to watch

😂 When you need to laugh

For the nights you can't take one more heavy thing.

88. Harold and Maude (1971)
Watch this if you need a 79-year-old to remind you how to live. Where to watch

89. Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015)
Watch this if an older woman who felt invisible decides not to be. Where to watch

90. Grandma (2015)
Watch this if you love a prickly, unapologetic grandmother. Where to watch

91. St. Vincent (2014)
Watch this if the neighborhood grump turns out to have a lot going on. Where to watch

92. Secondhand Lions (2003)
Watch this if you want eccentric great-uncles and a kid who needed them. Where to watch

93. The Old Man & the Gun (2018)
Watch this if someone flat-out refuses to slow down. Where to watch

94. The Mule (2018)
Watch this if a broke 90-year-old takes a very bad job. Laugh, then check on your parent's finances. Where to watch

95. A Man Called Otto (2022)
Watch this if a grieving widower keeps getting pulled back into the neighborhood. Where to watch

🎥 When you want the real thing

Documentaries. No actors, no scripts.

96. Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
Watch this if you want to see a daughter and her father with dementia face his death together, with humor. Where to watch

97. Alive Inside (2014)
Watch this if you want to see what music can reach in someone with dementia. Where to watch

98. Some Kind of Heaven (2020)
Watch this if you're curious what life inside a giant retirement community really looks like. Where to watch

99. The Mole Agent (2020) [Spanish]
Watch this if you've wondered what really happens inside a nursing home when families aren't there. Where to watch

100. Young@Heart (2007)
Watch this if you need proof that people in their 80s can still start something new. Where to watch

Got a film we missed? Email [email protected] and we'll add it. 💌