Secret Lives

Mother Carey's Chickens

July 1938 •English

A financially-strapped mother and her children relocate from the city to a small rural town.

Things We Lost in the Fire

September 2007 •English

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

Miracle in Kasama

March 2018 •Japanese

Yuka Shibuya, a struggling actress, and Hatsue, a widowed chestnut farmer, meet a mysterious, bloodied man in the farm. The three end up living together during chestnut season and form a special bond while a miracle slowly unfolds.

Water

September 2005 •Hindi

The year is 1938, and Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies are sweeping across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go to live with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.

Lemon Tree

February 2008 •Hebrew

Salma Zidane, a widow, lives simply from her grove of lemon trees in the West Bank's occupied territory. The Israeli defence minister and his wife move next door, forcing the Secret Service to order the trees' removal for security. The stoic Salma seeks assistance from the Palestinian Authority, Israeli army, and a young attorney, Ziad Daud, who takes the case. In this allegory, does David stand a chance against Goliath?

Rocco and His Brothers

October 1960 •Italian

When a impoverished widow’s family moves to the big city, two of her five sons become romantic rivals with deadly results.

Stand by Me

August 1986 •English

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie, Vern, Chris and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

Eugénie Grandet

February 1994 •French

When the daughter of the miserly cooper Grandet is up for marriage, both families Des Grassins and Cruchot want to marry their sons to her and her substantial dowry. But the girl shows more interest in the impoverished cousin, whom she entrusts her entire fortune to.

Miss You, Love You

Invalid date •English

With her husband's funeral to plan and grieving to be done, a woman reaches out to her estranged son. He refuses to come home, choosing instead to send his personal assistant to help make the arrangements. The widow is forced to process her grief in the presence of a complete stranger.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

June 1992 •English

In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

December 1993 •English

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.

Thumbsucker

September 2005 •English

Justin Cobb, a teenager in suburban Oregon, copes with his thumb-sucking problem, romance, and his diagnosis with ADHD and subsequent experience using Ritalin.

Mitte 30

February 2008 •German

Wendy and Lucy

December 2008 •English

A near-penniless drifter's journey to Alaska in search of work is interrupted when she loses her dog while attempting to shoplift food for it.

Twilight

November 2008 •English

When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, she falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite Edward's repeated cautions, Bella can't stay away from him, a fatal move that endangers her own life.

Starman

December 1984 •English

When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.

The Best Place to Be

May 1979 •English

A widow's life is thrown into turmoil by her hippie daughter, her rebellious teenage son, and an ill-starred love affair she is having with a much younger man -- and then a former suitor comes back into the picture.

The Only Thrill

January 1997 •English

A small-town store owner with a comatose wife shares a long-term relationship with his seamstress.

The Honeymoon Killers

February 1970 •English

Martha Beck, an obese nurse who is desperately lonely, joins a "correspondence club" and finds a romantic pen pal in Ray Fernandez. Martha falls hard for Ray, and is intent on sticking with him even when she discovers he's a con man who seduces lonely single women, kills them and then takes their money. She poses as Ray's sister and joins Ray on a wild killing spree, fueled by her lingering concern that Ray will leave her for one of his marks.

A Tale of Autumn

September 1998 •French

Magali, forty-something, is a winemaker and a widow: she loves her work but feels lonely. Her friends Rosine and Isabelle both want secretly to find a husband for Magali.