Top Ranked Family Dramas on the Net

The top ranked family dramas from our survey of all the polls on the net. By these, we mean dramas centered around family situations, not G-rated films for the family to enjoy. I'm sure more can be defined as both society and family, or both family and romance, so it's a loose definition. 49 were mentioned, 41 in the top 1000.

1. Quiet Man, The [Ford, John; 1952] #301 -US
2. Cries and Whispers [Bergman, Ingmar; 1972] #308 -Sweden
3. How Green Was My Valley [Ford, John; 1941] #384 -US [AA]
4. Secrets & Lies [Leigh, Mike; 1996] #385 -UK
5. Shadows [Cassavetes, John; 1959] #411 -US
6. Lost Weekend, The [Wilder, Billy; 1945] #415 -US [AA]
7. Faces [Cassavetes, John; 1968] #422 -US
8. Mother and the Whore, The [Eustache, Jean; 1973] #424 -France
9. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [Mungiu, Cristian; 2007] #430 -Romania
10. Late Spring [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1949] #436 -Japan

11. Smiles of a Summer Night [Bergman, Ingmar; 1955] #459 -Sweden
12. Dead, The [Huston, John; 1987] #460 -US
13. Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, The [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1939] #461 -Japan
14. Mouchette [Bresson, Robert; 1966] #492 -France
15. Make Way for Tomorrow [McCarey, Leo; 1937] #499 -US
16. City of Sadness, A [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1989] #510 -Taiwan
17. Providence [Resnais, Alain; 1977] #548 -UK
18. Magnolia [Anderson, Paul Thomas; 1999] #576 -US
19. Alice in the Cities [Wenders, Wim; 1974] #580 -Germany
20. Sacrifice, The [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1986] #586 -France-Sweden

21. Autumn Afternoon, An [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1962] #592 -Japan
22. Muriel ou Le Temps d'un Retour [Resnais, Alain; 1963] #622 -France-Italy
23. Distant Voices, Still Lives [Davies, Terence; 1988] #648 -UK
24. Silence, The [Bergman, Ingmar; 1963] #650 -Sweden
25. There's Always Tomorrow [Sirk, Douglas; 1956] #689 -US
26. Straight Story, The [Lynch, David; 1999] #746 -US-Fr-UK [photo rt]
27. Time Out [Cantet, Laurent; 2001] #770 -France
28. Away from Her [Polley, Sarah; 2006] #774 -Canada
29. Juliet of the Spirits [Fellini, Federico; 1965] #783 -Italy
30. Nobody Knows [Koreeda, Hirokazu; 2004] #792 -Japan

31. Othello [Welles, Orson; 1952] #797 -Italy
32. Lacombe, Lucien [Malle, Louis; 1974] #882 -France
33. Festen (aka Celebration) [Vinterberg, Thomas; 1998] #886 -Den.-Swe
34. Fallen Idol, The [Reed, Carol; 1948] #889 -UK
35. Not Reconciled [Straub, Jean-Marie; 1965] #899 - W Germany
36. Shame (Skammen) [Bergman, Ingmar; 1968] #913 -Sweden
37. Flight of the Red Balloon, The [Hsiao-hsien Hou; 2007] #946 -China
38. Opening Night [Cassavetes, John; 1977] #990 -US
39. Coeur en hiver, Un [Sautet, Claude; 1992] #996 -France
40. Half Nelson [Fleck, Ryan; 2006] #997 -US
41. Through a Glass Darkly [Bergman, Ingmar; 1961] #1000 -Sweden
42. Floating Weeds [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1959] #1011 -Japan
43. Cul-de-sac [Polanski, Roman; 1996] #1012 -France
44. Cría cuervos [Saura, Carlos; 1976] #1016 -Spain
45. Diary of a Lost Girl [Pabst, G.W.; 1929] #1017 -Germany
46. Les Enfants Terribles [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1950] #1020 -France
47. Since Otar Left [Bertucelli, Julie; 2003] #1075 -France-Belg
48. Burnt by the Sun [Mikhalkov, Nikita; 1994] #1149 - Russia-Fr
49. Central Station [Salles, Walter; 1998] #1241 -Brazil

I'll have to admit that this is not a favorite genre of mine, for as I peruse this list, I see more to avoid than to rewatch. One I do like is The Straight Story, an oddly affable outing from el bizarro David Lynch, which has another terrific performance from Richard Farnsworth (The Gray Fox).

Ironically my favorite film on this list is the last one, Central Station, a touching and poignant tale from Brazilian director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries); his best works are inspiring but not sentimental, a rare talent. Each of these has desevedly won numerous international awards.