bad mother SPOILERS

Yeah, because your children dying, immediately followed by the death of your soul-mate, makes any emotional instability you experience a sign that you're a bad mother. Sigh. Did you miss the fact where she went insane and nearly killed herself/divorced her husband when they died? Her husband was also the ONLY small thing holding her together after she was able to come to grips with it, so losing him only compounded her anguish. A little more sympathy, a little less judgement, hm? And just to clarify: when they chose to be re-born on earth, their children WANTED them to do it so they could have the life together they deserved. They would be there in heaven when they returned ("A lifetime is only a heartbeat here in heaven!", remember?) Honestly, your post makes me think you need to watch the movie again, I don't think you were paying much attention the first time around.

Yeah, they totally should have tacked on an extra half hour showing her reconciling with her kids, frolicking about with them in Heaven, and then finally deciding - as a family - that they should go get reincarnated.

What a stupid post. It's a movie.

Yikes - I would guess you are a woman. Why? Because it's usually women who judge the mothering of other women (even in fictional films, I guess). Why do we do that?
She loved and missed her children so much that she ended up in a mental institution and her life completely fell apart. She had to put her life pieces back together piece by piece (with her husband's help) and I don't know about you, but I certainly would not like to know what that is like.

I think once Chris died she knew that one support she had after the terrible loss of her beautiful kids was gone - and his death only brought back the realization that they were all gone - and the people she loved were never coming back.

I know two women who have lost children (young)...and they both handle the deaths differently - there is not a right way and even the way you think you would handle it probably nothing near the way you would (if you haven't lost any children, which I sincerely hope you haven't). Some have to push ahead and put their children out of their minds or they would really lose it - others embrace the deaths and mourn constantly throughout the years (birthdays, death anniversary, mother's day, etc.). After all, Chris didn't immediately find himself in heaven and immediately ask about his children in the first 2 minutes, why not question his parenting and love of his children? He didn't even have a nervous break-down over them. :D
See? Women always judge each other so much more harshly - but remember, it's just a film. There is nothing wrong with Anna, she's a fictional character.

-LeLu

To me it was the father's lack that bothered me. He didn't even ask for them, all he wanted was his wife. They basically had to come up to him and say HI before he thought about them.