I confessed a deplorable secret about motherhood to a friend – and it changed my life

The ‘mum noir’ film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You brought back the difficulties of those challenging early days of parenthood, and the conversation that freed me up emotionally, writes Polly Hudson

Mother of Flies review – horror in the woods as house guests are microdosed with psychedelics

The Adams-Poser, a family of four who make low-budget horror films, return with a menacing tale of Solveig, a woman attempting to cheat death by strange means

Moving: an elegant portrait of 90s Japan through tweenage eyes

In this hypnotic, meditative film, a family’s breakdown sets a 12-year-old girl’s coming-of-age in motion as she constructs various ploys to reverse her parents’ separation

Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost review – Ben Stiller’s moving study on the price his family paid for showbiz

Stiller’s documentary about his parents, comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, is a tender reflection on marriage and what it costs to keep smiling in the entertainment business

My foolproof guide to living with a partner – and not falling out about home decor

After years of marriage, my husband thinks I’m still trying to find his hideous painting of Bobby Moore ‘the right frame’ so it can go on the wall. It’s these subtle interior design lies that keep a relationship going, writes Polly Hudson

Deaf review – cinema as empathy machine as a deaf mother struggles with parenting issues

Angela’s apparently idyllic family life begins to fray when she becomes pregnant and the hearing world’s old prejudices are reawakened

‘If something goes wrong in childbirth, how will I know?’ The unflinching film about parenting with deafness

Giving birth is gruelling enough for mothers with hearing – but as the sisters behind gripping new drama Deaf explain, for disabled women labour can be brutal and traumatic

The Courageous review – rebellious mum on the edge will have you sobbing in sympathy

Call My Agent!’s Ophélia Kolb leads a Swiss drama with morally ambiguous realism reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers

Father Mother Sister Brother review – Blanchett and Rampling pick at family guilt in Jarmusch’s delectable triptych

Jim Jarmusch explores the awkwardness, guilt and the closeness of parents with their grownup children in three slyly comic panels of drama set in the US, Dublin and Paris

Daruma review – disabled veteran is landed with a four-year-old in soft-hearted indie road movie

A surly war vet takes in the daughter he never knew he had in a well-intentioned but overly sentimental film

Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods review – chilled-out, heartwarming baby deer drama

Actual wildlife footage with voiceover, rather than over-the-top CGI ‘live action’, gives charm to this family-friendly adaptation of the classic novel

Wolf Children review – Mamoru Hosoda’s tender werewolf fable is a minor masterpiece

Childhood, single motherhood and the call of the wild converge in Hosoda’s most emotionally resonant film – a beautifully drawn tale of love, loss and letting go

The Mountains review – a beautiful portrait of a family’s attempt to process a tragedy

Christian Einshøj’s debut feature unearths home video footage taken by his father, as he and his siblings explore their long-buried feelings about their brother’s death

How to save (or go for free) on a family day out this school summer holiday

From museums to a cinema or the great outdoors, there are many ways to cut the cost of your excursions

A real wag: Superman gets the bleak realities of dog ownership spot on

Hollywood has hitherto been ridiculously soppy over canines. The scrappy, wild and disobedient beast here is as annoying as the real thing