Movies Similar to The Labour of Pain and Joy

Thigh Line Lyre Triangular(1961)

Only at a crisis do I see both the scene as I've been trained to see it ( that is, with Renaissance perspective, three-dimensional logic–colors as we've been trained to call a color a color, as so forth) and patterns that move straight out from the inside of the mind through the optic nerves... spots before my eyes, so to speak... and it's very intensive, disturbing, but joyful experience. I've seen that every time a child was born... Now none of that was in WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING; and I wanted a childbirth film which expressed all of my seeing at such a time.

5.2

Women's Work(2024)

Melissa, a seasoned midwife, and her protégé, Allison, navigate family, career, and grief while fostering a community of women who find empowerment through holistic birth experiences.

0.0

Song 5(1964)

SONG 5: A childbirth song (the Songs are a cycle of silent color 8mm films by the American experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage produced from 1964 to 1969).

4.2

Pacific Mother(2023)

Pacific Mother journeys from Japan, to Hawaii, Tahiti, Rarotonga and Aotearoa to share interwoven stories of formidable women who live at one with the Pacific Ocean – freediving, spearfishing and paddling waka through its depths and playing with their children in its shallows – a stark contrast to fast-paced lifestyles of larger towns or cities. These women are all mothers who experienced diverse births in hospital, at home and by the sea, with and without medical assistance. Fukumoto also meets Māori and Japanese midwives who share indigenous traditions and rituals around birth that have been lost over recent generations, and are now gradually being reclaimed. Their stories demonstrate just how disconnected the global default maternity system is from the instinctive and cultural needs of mothers and families. They inspire a call to action on birthing rights, as well as a call for parents’ reconnection with their role as nurturers and protectors of their natural environment.

9.0

Café Limbo(2017)

A young waitress in a desolate café surrounded by an overpowering snowstorm challenges an evil presence when she's forced to save the life of a female guest in labour.

10.0

April(2025)

Nina, an OB-GYN, faces accusations after a newborn's death. Her life undergoes scrutiny during investigation. She persists in her medical duties, determined to provide care others hesitate to offer, despite the risks.

6.9

The Happy Housewife(2010)

Lea is an immaculate 30-something wife whose husband’s job in real estate allows her an enviably glossy lifestyle. The word ‘emancipation’ simply isn't in her vocabulary and as long as the money rolls in, all is rosy. So, when Harry Jr. arrives, she is a little traumatized at having to swap canapés for nappies.

5.9

Divine Love(2019)

In 2027 Brazil, civil servant Joana mainly deals with divorce cases. As a member of a branch of evangelical Christians known as the Divino Amor group, she uses her position to offer a kind of physical therapy to couples who want to separate. Although Joana and her husband Danilo regularly consummate their marriage, neither her constant prayers nor any other methods of assistance seem to be able to fulfill their desire for a child.

5.9

My Child(2009)

harming drama set in a rural area of post-war Iran. This heartwarming story follows a thoughtful young woman who serves as a leader to the community and a seemingly naive young man who is smitten with a local girl. The film observes their customs and traditions in the tranquil setting of their natural environment. Despite the irreparable damage to their lives due to the war, the villagers remain warm-hearted and kind to those they encounter. The past haunts their lives, but their hearts remain pure and strong in war torn times.

6.0

The Bad Mother's Handbook(2007)

Karen Cooper wants to domineer her family and believes she's its pillar. In fact she does everything wrong. Thus she messes up all their lives and futures, rather then help her loved-ones.

7.0

Little Nellie Kelly(1940)

Nellie Kelly, the daughter of Irish immigrants, patches up differences between her father and maternal grandfather while rising to the top on Broadway.

6.7

The Pod Generation(2023)

In a not-so-distant future, couples can share pregnancy on a more equal footing via detachable artificial wombs. While botanist Alvy has doubts about this new way of birthing babies, his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith.

6.0

Generation(1969)

Newlyweds shock the bride's father with plans for natural childbirth in a Greenwich Village loft.

4.5

Roots(2010)

A probate lawyer handles the will and testament of his recently deceased elderly clients and uncovers a shocking secret about their middle-aged son's unusual roots.

0.0

Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby(1976)

Baby Adrian is now all grown up and separated from his mother, wrestling with the occult influences that plague him, and trying to outrun Satan himself.

3.6

Man Baby(2019)

Think your family is odd? Watch "Man Baby." You'll feel better.

0.0

That Mothers Might Live(1938)

That Mothers Might Live is a 1938 American short drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann. The short is a brief account of Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis and his discovery of the need for cleanliness in 19th-century maternity wards, thereby significantly decreasing maternal mortality, and of his struggle to gain acceptance of his idea. Although Semmelweis ultimately failed in his lifetime, later scientific luminaries advanced his work in spirit like microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who provided a scientific theoretical explanation of Semmelweis' observations by helping develop the germ theory of disease and the British surgeon, Dr. Joseph Lister who revolutionized medicine putting Pasteur's research to practical use. In 1939, at the 11th Academy Awards, the film won an Oscar for Best Short Subject (One-Reel).

6.1

Nanook of the North(1922)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

7.1

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations(1938)

Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

6.8

Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty(1938)

Part two of Leni Riefenstahl's monumental examination of the 1938 Olympic Games, the cameras leave the main stadium and venture into the many halls and fields deployed for such sports as fencing, polo, cycling, and the modern pentathlon, which was won by American Glenn Morris.

6.7