10 Movies on mental health you need to watch

10 OCT, 2023

Sweta Gupta

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David O. Russell created this film as a gift for his son, who faces challenges with bipolar disorder and OCD. The movie combines humor, authenticity, and a touching love story.

1. Silver linings of playbook (2012)

Ron Howard's biopic won four Oscars and tells the story of mathematician John Nash, who struggled with paranoid schizophrenia while navigating life's challenges.

2. A beautiful mind (2001)

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This movie challenges the marginalisation of characters with mental illness and follows Mithi, portrayed by Konkona Sen Sharma, a 27-year-old former journalist battling schizophrenia.

3. 15 park avenue (2005)

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Disney Pixar's Inside Out is a masterful, kid-friendly film that explores the emotions inside a teenage girl's head. It's a tearjerker that reminds us of the importance of sadness and pain in life.

4. inside out (2015)

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In this Oscar-nominee, we witness Matt Damon's Will and his mental health journey. Initially hesitant about therapy, Will eventually opens up and shares his struggles.

5. good will hunting (1997)

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Robert Redford's drama explores psychotherapy and follows a Chicago family dealing with their son's accidental death, touching on topics like PTSD.

6. ordinary people  (1980)

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Depicting depression in cinema is tough, but Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" stands out. It's a sci-fi drama about two sisters, one getting married, as a rogue planet approaches Earth.

7. melancholia (2011)

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This film shows a young woman in the 1960s dealing with her mental health. Susanna Kayson admits herself into a psychiatric facility at her parents' request and receives a  BPD diagnosis .

8. girl interrupted  (1999)

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Darren Aronofsky's Oscar-winner follows Natlie Portman's Nina and her troubled relationship with her self-absorbed mother and a production of Swan Lake.

9. black swan (2010)

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Following a summer of hospitalization triggered by his best friend's suicide, Charlie, who battles PTSD, faces the daunting challenge of starting high school. 

10. the  perks of being wallflower (2012)

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