The chaos of Gemini Season is left in the glittery dust as the sun shifts into Cancer Season on June 21. It is a time when the days grow longer, families gather, and moods change as quickly as the tides. This season encompasses the summer solstice, the 4th of July, nostalgic nights, long goodbyes, coziness, crabbiness, and more. Find a film below to pick from one of your many moods this Cancer Season.
Moonstruck (1987)
Moonstruck might just be the most Cancer movie out there. An ode to the moon, which is this zodiac sign’s planetary ruler, the film is about more than just moon-gazing. It’s a story of family, traditions, breaking generational curses, and following your gut. On paper, its two leads are heavyweight hitters: Cher and Nicolas Cage. On screen, they’re as light as the midnight breeze under a full moon. The chemistry and energy are unmatched. Directed by Cancer filmmaker Norman Jewison, there is a magical sense of romance and wonder that infuses the air of Moonstruck as two people fall in love, against all odds and family expectations.
All About My Mother (1999)
Along with the moon, one of Cancer’s signature traits is motherhood. While films about mothering are currently having a moment, auteur Pedro Almodóvar was making waves in 1999 with his take, now one among many in his filmography, on motherhood. Drawing from seminal works like All About Eve (1950) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), All About My Mother is not only an ode to motherhood, but to theatre, Spain, the queer community, and found family.
Also inspired by Opening Night (1977), an actress witnesses a fatal car accident outside of a theater, leading to a search for answers and a journey of self-discovery. Almodóvar even dedicates the film to Bette Davis, Gena Rowlands, and all mothers and actresses who play them. It’s a celebration of women and the gifts they so graciously share with the world.
Autumn Sonata (1978)
In a delicate, yet deep, portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship, Autumn Sonata embodies this sign’s inner turmoil and the importance of maternal figures. Ingmar Bergman, who falls under Cancer, brings his signature stoic curiosity to this intimate story of an estranged mother, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman — the only collaboration between the two cinematic greats who happen to share a last name), who returns to her daughters to find pain, heartbreak, and resentment. The film lingers on the mother’s attempt to rekindle the relationships. Full of emotional baggage that slowly gets opened up, Autumn Sonata is a cathartic outlet for anyone with mommy issues of their own.
Nashville (1975)
In 1975, Robert Altman captured the essence of his motherland, the United States of America, which is itself a Cancer given its birthday, July 4. In Nashville, Altman masterfully blends Southern living, politics, and celebrity culture into a sprawling, tragic magnum opus that is celebrated today as an emblem of Americana cinema. It’s a classic for several reasons, including the sheer vitality of its country music subjects, the ensemble casting, and its infamous, shocking ending. For anyone looking to step away from family barbecues and fireworks to retreat to the comfort of a good film, Nashville should be a top contender this Independence Day. Plus, it even features a very young Jeff Goldblum in one of his first roles, before he went on to star in the actual Independence Day (1996).
Chungking Express (1994)
For those not looking to celebrate the not-so-united states this season, let’s shift continents. Wong Kar-wai is another classic example of a Cancer filmmaker, as he tends to focus on themes of yearning, memory, and nostalgia. Chungking Express is no exception as it follows two men who long for meaningful relationships, but must settle for finding significance in inanimate objects.
For example, one of the lonely men latches onto canned pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, which reminds him of his ex-girlfriend. The film meditates on the entanglement of emotions with the passage of time. Do long-term relationships and their subsequent breakups have an expiration date? Could a year’s absence sustain a budding crush? Questions that often plague this easily emotionally attached zodiac sign.
Where is the Friend’s House? (1987)
Cancers put a lot of stock into their upbringing and family. Whether good or bad, childhood is the most significant phase of life, making this season an ideal time to take a trip down memory lane. A simple, yet beautiful story of the frustrations of childhood can be found in Where Is the Friend’s House? from Cancer director Abbas Kiarostami.
It follows a young boy who is determined to help his friend and classmate from getting expelled from school. He is determined to bring the friend’s homework assignment to his house, but finds the task more difficult than he imagined. As he maneuvers through confusing encounters with various villagers, the film perfectly captures an enigmatic facet of childhood: the simplicity of a child’s motives, the opaque perplexities of adults, and navigating the space between the two.
Dekalog (1989)
Krzysztof Kieślowski is another international filmmaker, born under the sign of the crab, who delivered a stark story of parenthood in the late ‘80s. In his ten-part miniseries Dekalog, the first installment is a stand-out entry and the obvious place to start for anyone looking to dive into all ten hours of the often depressing Polish drama. Chock-full of various ethical dilemmas that mirror the Ten Commandments, Dekalog: One is about an atheist university professor who teaches his son various programming and equations on his early-model computers. Also visited by his aunt, a devout Christian, the boy grapples with faith and science as he contemplates some of life’s biggest questions. The tragedy of this first episode comes down to the randomness and chaos of our universe that can never be removed from life’s ultimate equation.
Magnolia (1999)
Throwing in one more dark family melodrama for good measure, Magnolia is quintessential Cancer Season viewing material. Another Cancer director, Paul Thomas Anderson, turned his lens toward an interconnected group of various families who struggle every day due to burned bridges, trauma, and abandoned dreams. It’s also another reflection on the coincidences of life that blend together, unnoticed, until plucked from obscurity by a discerning eye. With a cornucopia of characters, and Cancer actor Tom Cruise leading the charge in a career-defining performance, PTA takes several notes from Altman à la Nashville — one of its stars, Henry Gibson, even makes a cameo. Magnolia is like a rendition of Nashville but with all its Cancer traits, like family, yearning, and loneliness, dialed all the way up until it comes to a head in another infamous ending.
Minari (2020)
Shifting to a softer, subtler story of family, Minari is a film that evokes the warm, comforting feelings that Cancer Season often provides. This story provides a new perspective on the traps of the American dream that is falsely advertised to many immigrants. In a semi-autobiographical story, director Lee Isaac Chung recounts the lives of a 1980s Korean family who relocate from California to rural Arkansas after buying a plot of land. The father, Jacob (Steven Yeun), is tenacious in his pursuit to create a fruitful, profitable farm for their family. Their eccentric grandmother, Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung), immigrates from South Korea to join them and look after the kids. With muted hues, slow camera movements, and stunning cinematography, Minari is a cozy, contemplative watch.
Defending Your Life (1991)
In their soul of souls, Cancers are a romantic sign. This can be a strange season of unrequited love, forbidden flings, or just reminiscing on the one who got away. Defending Your Life is a smart romantic comedy in which two people fall in love in “Judgment City,” a purgatory for the recently deceased to stand trial and determine their next phase of existence or reincarnation. Cancer filmmaker Albert Brooks directs, writes, and stars, alongside arguably the greatest actress of our time, Meryl Streep, also a Cancer. The emotional undercurrents elevate the film from your run-of-the-mill genre fluff and into an echelon of Brooks’ own making, where it stands as one of the most poignant rom-com fantasy films around. Tackling the afterlife is usually no laughing matter, but this enigmatic sign approaches it with refreshing earnestness.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
It also couldn’t be a Cancer movie list without the sign’s most charismatic bundle of empathy to grace our screens: Robin Williams. Taking on the maternal role of a lifetime, Mrs. Doubtfire holds up decades later as a comedy gem with its leads shining brighter than ever. An infectious Sally Field stars as the mother of a San Franciscan family, determined to give her kids the best life. When that no longer includes their misfit father, Daniel (Williams), the family gains a new member, a British nanny by the name of Mrs. Doubtfire (also Williams). What ensues is an uproarious couple of hours with top-tier physical comedy, gags, and impeccable makeup.
Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)
As a water sign and creature of the sea, a nautical movie or two is an apt option for this time of year. One you may have missed that just recently premiered on Netflix is Remarkably Bright Creatures. Starring Sally Field, who once again brings so much emotion, empathy, and heart to her role, the film is a story of the importance of family, coping with grief, and being present. While not a crab, there is an underwater friend who helps bring these themes together: Marcellus the octopus. It’s a heartwarming hug of a film that honors the lonely, embraces them with all eight arms, and reminds them they aren’t really alone.
List Courtesy of Kasey Dunifer